Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto (which I do not), Neji would not be dead.

Chapter Two

Kakashi stood stock-still for a few moments, thankful for his mask. What just happened? he thought. In fact, now that he thought about it, the whole evening had been bizarre. First, Sakura invited him to drink with her and Ino, which was odd. Then, there was that moment when it seemed like Sakura was flirting with him. While carrying her home, he'd slipped up with that comment about her being pretty, and then she'd kissed him. Was she just that drunk? Was it to thank him? (For what?) Kakashi shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Quickly making the hand sign for the transportation jutsu, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke and reappeared back outside the bar. Heading inside, he walked over to where Tenzou and Genma were sitting.

"He returns!" Genma proclaimed. Kakashi shot him a dirty look.

"Hello, senpai," Tenzou greeted Kakashi. "Is Sakura alright?"

Kakashi nodded, motioning for a drink. "She was at her limit and was about to come over here and drink even more, so I stepped in. We had a minor disagreement about it." He closed his eye in a fake smile. "Anyway, how was your date with Shizune?" he asked Genma, hoping to draw the topic away from him and Sakura.

Genma looked surprised that Kakashi had remembered, but accepted the change in subject and happily told his two fellow shinobi all about the date. Apparently, it had ended in an all-out sparring match.

"So she didn't like the date?" Tenzou asked, confused. "It sounded nice."

"No, she loved the date," Genma grinned around his senbon. "Haven't you heard the phrase, 'fighting is foreplay?'" Tenzou choked on his drink. "Yup. We're going out again in two days. So Kakashi, still living a life of celibacy?"

Kakashi considered ignoring the question, as he always did, but the night's events had unsettled him. Another group of shinobi had become raucous enough to prevent others from overhearing, so he was confident no one outside of Genma and Tenzou would hear what he was about to say. Calling for another drink, he lowered his voice and asked, "Can you two keep a secret?" Both men nodded. "I mean it," he said harshly, "no one can find out."

Genma rolled his eyes. "We've known each other since we were kids and you still don't trust me? Spit it out." Eyeing the mask, he added, "Not literally, though."

Kakashi narrowed his eye at him. "I am interested in someone."

"Oh, thank god, finally," Genma muttered.

Tenzou closed his mouth as he worked through the implications of Kakashi's initial request. "It's a subordinate, isn't it?" he asked, looking somewhat horrified.

"Hn," Kakashi nodded reluctantly. Might as well tell them everything at this point, he thought.

Genma started snickering. "Naruto?" Seeing Kakashi's unamused stare, he corrected himself. "Sakura, then."

Kakashi nodded and stared down into his empty glass, toying with it. "Obviously, it can't happen." Tenzou nodded gravely. Genma rolled his eyes. "Not only am I her superior and former teacher, but there is the age difference, as well. I was content to keep it to myself, but," he sighed, "she kissed me tonight."

Genma spat out his senbon, almost impaling Tenzou's finger. Apologizing, Genma turned to Kakashi and demanded, "You were drinking with her, right? Tell me everything." Listening attentively as Kakashi recounted the details, he leaned back in his chair, arms behind his head and a grin on his face. "Yep, she wants you."

Tenzou looked absolutely scandalized. "Why did I have to hear this?" he wailed, agitatedly running hands through his messy hair.

Ignoring his distraught friend, Genma leaned forward and said, "She likes you, obviously. From what you said, she's started making moves. So it's mutual, and there's no problem. You need to go for it."

Kakashi shook his head vehemently. "No. She's too young for me, and she deserves better. She can't know, for her own good."

Genma yanked the senbon out of the table, ignoring the bartender's glare, and pointed it at Kakashi. "No, that's bullshit. You deserve better than to be alone out of some sense of martyrdom. I'm not going to help you stay miserable, if that's what you're about to ask us."

"I'm not changing my mind on this," Kakashi said firmly. "You'll help me, right?" he asked Tenzou. "You agree that it's the right thing to do."

Tenzou stopped muttering to himself and looked up. "Yes, senpai," he answered. "Though I don't think there's much you need to do. Just keep acting normally and resist her advances. She'll give up."

Genma sighed. "Tenzou is right on one point, at least. You don't want to be too proactive and ruin the relationship you already have with her."

Kakashi faced Genma down sternly. "And you won't tell her? Or Ino, or anyone else?" he demanded.

"I think throwing away a chance at love with a beautiful girl is unbelievably stupid," Genma insisted, senbon back between his teeth. "But I won't tell anyone," he added reluctantly.

"Thank you." Kakashi smiled at his friends with an eye-crease and transported himself back to his own apartment. Without paying for his drinks, of course. Genma and Tenzou grumbled and each placed some money on the table to cover his tab, as well as their own.

"You can't seriously want them to be involved in that sort of relationship," Tenzou accused.

Genma glared back at him. "You can't seriously want Kakashi to be alone when he could finally find some happiness. He's suffered enough without bringing more sadness upon himself. Besides, you've miscalculated." He disappeared in a cloud of smoke, reappearing in front of his door. "They've forgotten Yamanaka Ino," Genma said to himself with a smile.

Sakura woke up to a pounding headache and a louder pounding at the door. "Sakura-chaaan!" someone yelled.

Groaning, Sakura touched a glowing green hand to her forehead, easing her hangover, and slouched towards the door. Flinging it open, she gave Naruto her worst glare. "What do you want?" she demanded.

Naruto threw himself at her and hugged her tightly. "Oh, Sakura-chan, I was so worried when I heard!" he exclaimed. "Thank god you're okay!"

Oh, no. "When you heard what, Naruto?" she growled.

Naruto continued on, oblivious to her tone. "That you had to be carried home from the bar like a sack of potatoes by Kakashi-sensei!"

Sakura felt her headache coming back. Rubbing her temple, she said, "Kakashi-sensei was just being a jerk. I didn't have that much to drink."

"Oh, good," Naruto said, scratching the back of his neck and grinning sheepishly. "You don't want to grow up to be an old alcoholic like baa-chan, after all."

Her patience at an end, Sakura slammed the door in Naruto's face and headed back to bed. Unfortunately for her, Naruto immediately started shouting her name through the door. Praying she wouldn't eventually be evicted because of her obnoxious teammate, Sakura stormed back to the door and ripped it open. "What, Naruto?"

"We have training today!" he whined. "We have to be there in fifteen minutes. Did you forget?"

"Shit!" Sakura shrieked, closing the door and running back to her bedroom. She changed out of her pajamas, hastily wrapped her breast bindings, and then threw on her clothes and equipment. Finally yanking on her boots, she joined Naruto outside and they hurried to Training Ground 3. They arrived five minutes late to find Sai doodling in the shade of a tree. Kakashi was nowhere in sight, as expected.

"Why do we even bother showing up on time every day?" Naruto wondered out loud.

Suddenly, Sakura had an idea that would both get back at Kakashi for last night's manhandling and further her own goal. "Hey, do you still want to see what's under Kakashi's mask?" she asked Naruto and Sai.

"Hell yes!" Naruto shouted.

Sai shrugged. "It's of little interest to me." Sakura and Naruto both shot him dirty looks.

"Will you help us, though?" Sakura asked.

Sai considered it for a while and then nodded, putting his ink and brush away. "It sounds like a good way to improve teamwork, as well as a useful challenge. I assume you have some sort of strategy, hag?"

Sakura's eye twitched. "As a matter of fact, I do."

When Kakashi arrived two hours later to no shouts of "You're late!" and no bickering, his stomach sank. Oh, no.

To be continued...