Hey guys, sorry I didn't post this in time. No excuses, I suck...heh heh heh...uh...Anyway. I hope you enjoy. Next chapter is finished and awaiting editing. Review if you can. I appreciate the feedback and it's nice to hear from you guys. If you think that I suck as a writer, I may get a tad bit defensive but I will always concede that you have a right to your opinion. Bleh! I'm tired. I'll try to be good and post again soon.

I don't own Naruto. If I did, I probably wouldn't change much.

THE KISS

Once he was gone, I collapsed unto the bench and cried. When I felt I could function again, I began hunting in my little purse for tissue only to find that I hadn't packed any. I looked at the sleeves of the kimono but refused to foul such a beautiful thing with selfish tears. As if by magic, a handkerchief appeared in front of my face.

"Thanks." I muttered

"Keep it." said Crow as he moved to lean against the tree. "Can I ask you a question?"

I gave one more wipe and looked up at him. I wanted to reply that he already had but just couldn't do it. "Sure." I answered instead

"Why? Why would you do that? He had a purpose as long as he felt he was doing something for you, he had a reason to live and better himself and you had someone working to get you home. Why would you throw that away? Is it because you don't love him?"

I considered not answering but it was a good question, one that I wasn't sure that I had the answer to. "It's not the...the love thing. I've known that Sam liked me as more than a friend for a while now. I didn't want to acknowledge it so I ignored it. I got really good at pretending that it didn't exist. Anyway, that's not why…." I leaned back against the hard bench and stared up into the sky." I don't want Sam to waste his life driven by... guilt or chivalry or whatever makes him want to spend his life making me happy. I can make myself happy, thank you very much... well most of the time anyway." I said turning to him with a rueful smile "It's like what Sakura did to Naruto when she made him promise to bring Sasuke home. I don't want that for Sam. I want him to be free to do the things that he wants to do, the things that make him happy… Bleh, I hate monologuing." I said and got to my feet. I almost handed him the soggy handkerchief but decided that I would wash it and then return it.

He didn't answer at first but seemed to be thinking.

"Crow, I think I'm ready to go home now but I fibbed about knowing how to get there so if you could give me some directions..."

He turned to look at me... I think. Cursed mask. "Well, we could do that" he replied "or we could go get something to eat, watch the fireworks and then head back. It seems much more enjoyable don't you think?" he head tilted at me

I sighed at his shameless attempt to con more food out of me. "Oh fine, just get me food and get it fast." I said smoothing my kimono.

"Of course. How do you feel about barbeque?"

We didn't end up getting barbeque or any kind of sit down meal. I didn't want to take the chance of running into Sakura... and Sam, so I avoided the restaurants altogether. Instead, I bought every snack I could find, from squid on a stick to shrimp filled dumplings to skewers of meat that brought back memories of Deidara. I was licking my fingers when Crow stopped. He had been sort of leading me along while I ate, so it took me a moment to figure out where I was. We stood in a crowded square at the base of the Hokage monument. It felt pretty late but all around me people were full of anticipation and excitement. Crow led me to a quiet corner away from the crowd. Tossing his empty skewer into the trash he scanned the area around us. Seeming satisfied, he slumped gracefully against the wall.

"What now?" I asked and fought a yawn

"The fireworks should be starting in..." Something caught his attention and I followed his gaze.

Sitting at the edge of the square was a box of what looked like giant sticks of dynamite. Rummaging in the box and looking sinister was a sooty Konohamaru. I didn't see his friends but I doubted they were far away.

Crow made a sound of annoyance and turned to me. "Do not move. I will be keeping an eye on you but you have to stay in the square." He said suddenly all business. "Do you understand?"

"Yeah, of course. Are those dynamite or firew..." but I was talking to myself because Crow was already walking away with purposefully ominous strides. I saw Konohamaru realise that he had been spotted when...

"Excuse me," came a soft yet confident voice. I jumped and turned. "I see you're here by yourself, you wouldn't happen to have a partner for the fireworks would you?" he asked in a casual manner

"Huh?" I asked. He smirked at me and I flicked a quick glance to where Crow was wrestling a lit torch out of the boy's hand. "What are you talking about?" I asked finally looking at him

He wasn't a tall man, maybe only 3 or four inches taller than me with sandy brown hair and eyes a shade of blue that shifted to gray in the flickering light. He wore ninja wear and looked scuffed and a little dirty as though he had just come back from a mission. Wrapped around his bicep was a Konoha headband. He smiled but his eyes were laughing at me. "You're not from the village, are you?" he asked solemnly

"Well, no." I said casting another look at Crow who was now trying to separate Konohamaru from his female team mate, who was apparently trying to kill him. I looked back to the ninja quickly but he didn't seem to mind that my attention had wandered.

"Is he your boyfriend?" he asked following my gaze

The expression on my face made him laugh, "Not boyfriend, then. That means that you're a guest and you must be pretty important to have your own personal guard, especially on a busy night like this. You must be a princess; I've always wanted to kiss a princess." He said with a silly, thoughtful look. I laughed.

"That is the worst come on I've ever heard. Why would I kiss you? I don't even know you." I said and held my purse tighter in case I needed to use it as a weapon. "I'm not kissing anyone tonight." I said a little sadly, thinking of Sam.

"Hmm, well you and I will be the only ones left out then...well us and your anbu but he's working so that's to be expected." He said

I frowned, "I don't understand. Why would everyone be kissing?"

He looked surprised. "Because it's tradition." Seeing my confusion, he explained "It's a tradition to kiss someone on the night of the festival as soon as the first fireworks explode in the sky. It's supposed to bring good luck and happiness. Haven't you noticed all the couples?" he asked nodding to the crowd

I had noticed that there were a lot of couples but had assumed it was just people going to the festival together. "And you want to kiss me?" I asked "Why?"

"I could say that I find you beautiful and intriguing or I could say that I didn't have time to find a date and I could use some luck." He said rubbing a hand into his already mussed hair.

I clasped my hands in front of me before replying "I suppose I could, I mean, who couldn't use some good luck? What do I have to ..." I didn't get to finish.

There was a boom and I turned in time to see a flower made of gold and red sparkles explode in the air. I turned back to ask the ninja if we were supposed to kiss now, when he caught my face in his hands and pressed his mouth to mine. It must have been a long time since I'd been kissed because the sensations blew my socks off. It was overwhelming. I could feel, the heat coming off his body and his slightly calloused hands on my face. I'd expected him to smell sweaty but he didn't smell of anything at all. Before I could get my wits about me, it was over. He looked a little unfocused as he patted me awkwardly on the head. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" he said voice husky. He coughed to clear it as a fresh wave of fireworks filled the sky. His eyes flicked to it and mine followed. When I turned back, he was gone. I swore, then, thoroughly freaked out. That was how Crow found me;

"I wasn't gone that long," Came Crow's laconic, somewhat amused voice "but it was apparently long enough for you to have some fun." He said

"What took you so long? I could have been murdered in the time it took you to get back here." I said annoyed because I was embarrassed, even knowing that I was an adult who shouldn't feel embarrassed by kissing someone "Seriously, you're a frigging Anbu and it took you 15 minutes to scare off three genin?"

"Oh, but I didn't want to interrupt. After all, one doesn't witness love at first sight every day." He said with a smirk in his voice

"It was not love...I was just kissing him because of the tradition thing... You know with the festival..." I petered off as reality and realisation hit me. "Crow, don't judge me but have you ever heard of a tradition of kissing someone when the fireworks go off?" I recounted what the guy had said and it was to Crow's credit that he didn't laugh till I was done. By then, of course, he didn't need to answer.

"So I got conned, huh?" I said feeling annoyance (at myself) warring with amusement. I touched my bottom lip and remembered how good of a kiss it had been. Amusement won and I started snickering and then laughing. When I could breathe again, I felt much better than I had before. "It was a very good kiss." I concluded finally "I just hope I never see him again, though."

Crow tilted his head at me "Embarassed?" he asked

I mimicked the head tilt and smirked. "Nope, I just want to spare you some trouble. The next time I see him, I'm going to punch him in the face."

Review?