Chapter 2

Long Time No See

Ari's heart absolutely melted when she heard Kakashi whisper her name. And when she turned to face him, she almost died. Her heart was racing, but she kept herself under control in front of Masuu and Tsunade. "Hey there Kakashi." she said and smiled at him. He stared at her. She must have changed a lot for him since they last met. "Long time no see, eh?" she turned her body fully around.

Tsunade looked at the two. "You know each other?" she asked, half confused.

Ari turned to look at her and nodded with a smile on her face. "Oh yes, we go back. He and team 7 were King Michiru's escorts in the Moon country, and that's when I worked as Prince Hikaru's Nanny."

Tsunade still looked confused. "Wait, you're a nanny?"

Ari laughed. "Was a nanny. After the whole crisis, I was named the king's royal advisor and captain of the royal guard."

Kakashi came forward to her side. "We're old friends of each others." he said, and looked at her. Nothing had really changed with her besides her hair, clothes, and honor marks. The honor marks of her clan she had had before were just two swirls around the corner f her eye, but now they swirled under her eye as well.

Tsunade nodded. "Very well then. Kakashi I'm guessing you know what to do." she pushed forward a manila envelope. "These are the keys to the apartments we have arranged for you both. Of course they're separate ones, but Masuu's is right down the hall form yours, Ari." she said. "We will give you a week until we swear you in as honorary Shinobi of the fire country. You will have to prove your loyalty to us on a mission soon. But for now, we will give you two time to settle in and to get a head start in your training."

Kakashi looked at Tsunade and then Ari. "Training?" he asked her.

Ari looked at him and bit her lip. "Yeah, I need to talk to you about that later."

Kakashi looked at her suspiciously. "Ari…"

Ari clasped her hands together and bowed her head to Tsunade. "Thank you Hokage-sama." she said and spun around, going out the door with Masuu following behind.

Kakashi chased after her. "Ari, what are you talking about?" he caught her gently by her forearm.

Ari turned and faced him. "I'll tell you about it over dinner. Say, six o'clock tonight, my place." she pecked his masked cheek quickly. "Now, will you kindly show us ladies to our apartments?" she fluttered her eyes at him.

Kakashi sighed and smiled at her. "Alright, you win." he grinned from beneath his mask, and took the lead.

~*~

Kakashi took them to an apartment complex that wasn't to far from his own. Ari opened the envelope that had the keys to their new homes, and gave Masuu hers. After Masuu entered her apartment, Kakashi led Ari down the hall to her own. "Here you go." he said, and stopped at her door.

Ari turned and looked at him. Kakashi stared into her brilliant magenta eyes.

"You haven't changed at all." she whispered to him. "Just as how I remembered you…"

Kakashi stepped forward, and Ari's back was pressed against the wall. "Neither have you. I mean besides your hair." his hand went to her hair and brushed though the short but deliciously soft locks.

Ari giggled softly. "It got in my way a lot during training, so I chopped it off." she felt his arms snake around her waist.

"I like it." he closed in on her.

Ari smiled as she felt him close in. "I'm glad." she whispered as she slipped off his mask. Their lips crashed together in a hungry and desperate kiss. She moaned slightly as his tongue invaded her mouth. He slowly broke the kiss, hanging onto her lip for a split second. Ari looked up at him, her lips swollen from his invasion.

She smirked slightly and gently pushed him off, and unlocked her door. "Tonight at 6." she said and slipped inside her apartment, closing the door. Kakashi looked at the door for a moment and pulled his mask up on his face. He turned and shoved his hands in his pockets, and left the complex.

~*~

It was a few hours later. Ari took Masuu down to the market for groceries. Masuu carried a basket that was filled with fruits and vegetables while Ari carried another with meat an fish. She leaned over a stand that had fresh pork. She wanted to make something delicious tonight for Kakashi. She paid for a few slabs of pork and paid the vendor. As She and Masuu walked through the market, she saw a ramen stand called "Ichiraku".

"Masuu, let's grab lunch, yeah?" she asked.

Masuu nodded with a smile on her face. "Yes please!"

Ari smiled back at her apprentice, and ducked under the curtains of the shop. Ari stopped for a moment once she saw a girl with short pink hair and a boy with blonde spikes. Ari smiled to herself. "Naruto! Sakura!" she greeted.

They both turned around at the same time as Ari set her basket on the counter and Masuu did the same.

They're eyes widened. "Ari-chan?" they said in unison.

Ari smiled and put her hands on her hips. "In the flesh!"

Naruto's grin got wide and he jumped up, standing in front of her. "You haven't changed at al, Ari-chan!" he said.

Ari laughed. "Thank you, Naruto."

Sakura stood up beside Naruto with an equally large grin. "You look wonderful Ari-chan!"

"Thank you Sakura." she smiled at her too.

Naruto looked at Masuu. "Who is this?" he asked.

Masuu glared at him. Ari looked at Masuu. She wasn't really a people person with others her age, maily because her parents never had another child, and the Suon clan was lacking children. Ari looked back at Naruto. "This is Masuu, my cousin slash apprentice." she said and smiled.

Sakura bowed her head at Masuu. "Nice to meet you, Masuu, I'm Sakura." she smiled at her.

Masuu just looked away from her, crossing her arms over her chest.

Naruto growled. "You can at least say hi!" he raised his voice.

Ari looked down at Masuu, and back at Naruto. "Forgive her. She's not good with people."

Masuu looked at the menu hanging above the counter. "Ari can I order please?" she asked.

Ari nodded. "Go ahead Hun." she said, and looked at her watch. "Oh dear. If I wanna be on time, I have to go." She pulled her wallet out and gave Masuu a few bucks. "Here you go. And try and be nice to people please?" she said. Ari turned to Naruto and Sakura. "It was great seeing you both. If you see Lee, tell him I said hi?" she picked up her baskets and took off.