Chapter 31

A pure fist of heat hit me right in the face as I stepped inside the bus. The driver looked at me impatiently as I struggled to get the money out of my wallet, which did not contain much to begin with. But that was not very unusual.

I was on my way to the hospital in Nagoya to deliver some papers to Kakuzu that he had forgotten at Hidan's place. It bothered me quite a lot. Since when had I become his gofer? He was not the one providing a roof over my head. That was his boyfriend. It was a matter of principles because in reality, I had nothing better to do. But I still thought he should have come get it himself or made Hidan bring it. Lucky as I was, Hidan had an excuse ready so he would not have to do it, of course, and then I was stuck with the task. It was not even a good excuse. He was just going to hang out with Zabuza.

The bus driver handed me my ticket and I began walking further down the bus to find myself an empty seat. It was rush hour so that task was even more troublesome.

When my eyes fell on a seat with only a hand on it, I asked, "Excuse me, may I sit here?" but as my eyes traveled up the arm and reached the person's face, I realized it was too late to go find another seat.

"Sure." He looked at me for a second before directing his gaze towards the window.

I hesitated. Maybe he would not mind if I just pretended like I had not asked. But I figured it would only be even more awkward if I turned around and tried to find a new seat, so I forced my unwilling body down.

The bus drove on as soon as the last passenger had gotten on and the silver haired man glanced at me shortly, sending me a forced smile. I could only wonder if his mask was hiding a mouth turned upside down. After hiding the lower part of his face for so many years, he had to be an expert at smiling using only his eyes. I had spent countless hours in front of the mirror, practicing doing just that. But I could not smile with my eyes without my lips turning up as well. Maybe it did not matter how much you practiced. It could just be that it was impossible to give a genuine smile without using your mouth.

I looked at Kakashi in an attempt to figure out what kind of game he was playing. Whatever it was, he was not going to win. I could be just as ignorant.

"Didn't expect to meet you here."

He looked at me. "Neither did I."

I absolutely hated it when he acted so cool. "So... Where're you going?" It would seem like social suicide to most people that I was actually trying to start a conversation with Kakashi, but remember that I was not the one who started out with acting like nothing had ever happened. Besides, the thought of sitting next to him for an unknown period of time without saying anything at all just made my mouth move on its own. The last thing I wanted was that kind of silence.

"Nagoya. And you?"

Great. So I would have to sit on the bus with him for over an hour. "Same. What business do you have there?"

"Going to the hospital for a check up. What about you?"

"I'm headed there as well. I'm delivering something for Kakuzu." It felt like a one way conversation. So pointless.

"Looks like I'm stuck with you for quite a while, huh?"

That caught my attention. The way he used that phrase. It was... uncommon? Did you not usually use it to "apologize" for imposing on someone. But... He reversed it. Now I was the one taking up his time. It could not be a coincidence he had said that. Yet why did he still sit there smiling?

I smiled back. "Well, avoiding people have never been your weakness. It's as simple as taking a different route."

For a second he stared at me very intensely. Then his face went right into being as soft as jelly. He definitely got what I was getting at. "Sometimes it just isn't as simple as that. Not if the other is persistent enough." There was not even the slightest trace of a sneer in his voice. "What is it you're delivering anyway?"

"Kakuzu forgot some file or something at home that he needs today at the hospital. The bastard practically forced me to get it for him and still he wouldn't even tell me what it was about."

"Well, people are allowed to have a private life and secrets, don't you think?" There was that stare again. "Whatever is in that envelope is probably for no one else but him to see. You should know better than anyone that some things should be left unseen or unsaid, am I right?" And he went for the kill.

"There may be some truth to that."

Afterward, I really did not know what to say. It seemed more than anything that he wanted to avoid speaking to me. There was a small chance that I had just misunderstood everything he had said by interpreting them as hints. But I doubted it and admitted defeat.

The bus rolled on. It did not make as loud a racket as the local buses that only drove around the village did. Probably because the government spent more money on them when they had longer routes and especially when it were buses that had to drive around in the big city. They could not afford some old wreck to break down in the middle of peak hours.

The fat woman beside me got a hold of her son that was running around the bus, disturbing the peace most people sat in. She got him onto her lap while saying something to the young girl beside her. The woman could not drown out the loud music from the girl's headphones though. At least she did not react.

There was an old couple sitting in front of me. I figured they were tourists by the way they had to describe every little detail about the landscape around us.

"No, I'm on my way now... Of course not!... I've been sitting in this bus for two hours already so what did you expect?! I'm coming over and that's-"

"Could you not speak on the phone right now? It's embarrassing. People are looking at us."

"So what? This is important."

I stopped listening to the fighting business man and who I assumed to be his wife that both sat behind me. Instead, I took a look around the bus again. Everyone was so different. Everyone had their own reasons to be on the bus. That was what I hated most about public transportation. The stories. I hated knowing that I would never find out for what purpose every single person was on the bus. It was fun enough to observe and guess, but only for a while. Eventually, I always wanted to know exactly what their stories were and how they were going to end. It interested me.

A teenage boy and girl sat a few seats ahead of me on the opposite side. There seemed to be a lot of those around these days.

The girl lifted her head from the boy's shoulder and before she knew it, he had stolen a kiss from her. She looked around embarrassingly, but after he told her something, she settled with looking at him with a pinkish color heating up her round cheeks.

"Excuse me?"

I immediately looked down beside me.

"Do you have a pencil I can borrow? I want to draw my mommy a picture."

"Excuse my son... What did I just say to you? Sit down and be quiet. Don't bother the other passengers."

I had not even had time to look up at the fat woman before she started scolding her kid. I guess it did not matter that much anyway since I did not have a pencil or pen or anything like that on me.

"Here."

I looked at Kakashi.

"He can have it."

He handed me a pen and I gave him a slightly confused look before passing it on to the kid's mother. At first she did not want it, but I bet she was happy that she took it in the end because the kid did not say another word for the rest of the ride.

Kakashi watched the kid that was sitting on his mother's lap now quietly drawing.

I could not stop myself. "That was nice of you," I said.

"Well, the mother looked like she could use a break, don't you think?" He lowered his voice so the mother would not hear.

"Yeah... a little." I smiled at him and was surprised that he smiled back. This time it did not seem so fake.

"You're heading home right after you deliver those papers?" he asked, turning his body towards me in his seat.

"Well, Kakuzu only convinced me to bring them to him because it would give me a chance to search for work in Nagoya."

"Really? So, you're thinking about moving or what?"

"I'm not exactly in any position to move. "

He looked at me apologetically.

"Other than that, there's not any work left for me in the village. I've been everywhere," I continued resignedly. He nodded.

"At least you can drive to town with Kakuzu the days he have to work too."

"Are you kidding me? I would much rather take the bus every single day than do that."

We both laughed and it suddenly felt like the tension between us began to loosen up a bit. It was nice having a casual conversation with Kakashi again. It had been quite a while.

I stood up when we were near our destination. Kakashi was right behind me.

"I thought Kakuzu had already declared you healthy," I said as we walked towards the hospital.

"Me too, but he wanted to check if my body is back up to 100 per cent."

"You think you're gonna pass his little "test"?"

"Sure, I haven't felt better in a long time. Can't see why I wouldn't be fully recovered yet."

"Well, I did read the disease could still have some effect after several months."

"I guess it's okay to be cautious."

Kakuzu was in the middle of checking another patient when we arrived. But it did not take long before he joined us.

I handed him the envelope.

"Thanks. Hope it wasn't too much trouble for you." Kakuzu smiled as if he wanted to apologize.

"No, it wasn't troublesome at all."

"You know, when people hide their mouth, it means they're hiding something. Either they're embarrassed or they're lying about something." The tan doctor winked at me, the smile never leaving his face. I had not even noticed my hand was fumbling around near my mouth.

Kakashi looked down at his feet.

"Are you ready, Kakashi?"

He looked up again and nodded.

"See you at home, Iruka. Tell Hidan I love him."

"You know I don't deliver those kind of messages."

"Just testing." He sent me a smile before walking off with Kakashi. The silver haired did not say goodbye.

Nagoya city was a lot more lively than the boring old village. It had street- musicians, entertainers and traders, bums, people of all ages, happy couples, fighting mates, Asians, tourists, unemployed, a hard working middle class, a carefree top dog and the list goes on. In the city, people did not care what color skin you had, or if you did not know who your real mother was, or if you did not speak Japanese and used cutlery instead of chopsticks. People minded their own business. And they were generally more open minded than the citizens of the village. There was room for everyone.

Maybe even someone like me would be able to fit in there.

I went into a sushi shop and asked if they needed any help. Unfortunately, the old man who ran it told me he would not be able to pay for any help since it was such a small shop. Then I went into a supermarket even though I did not really want to ask for a job in a place like that. At least I would be able to prove that I had some experience, but they had just hired someone and was not looking for anyone new in the near future so I could check that off my list.

Nobody was looking to hire anyone. The only place I did not go into and ask for a job was this night club. A gay bar to be exact. I just could not picture the scenario where someone asked me where I worked and I replied a gay bar. But then again, I did not have any family honor I needed to maintain.

Eventually, I called it a day and went back to the bus station. That was where I met Kakashi for the second time that day.

"You again," he saidwith a wide smile that was visible under his mask.

"I know, two times in one day. What are the odds?"

He chuckled, "Seems like too much of a coincidence. You think Kakuzu was planning this all along?"

"He's that type of man so you never know." I knew he was just kidding, but for some reason it actually seemed logical. Kakuzu hated the fact that Kakashi and I did not talk. And he had the power to gather us. He could arrange it so we would both be taking the same bus and be bound to met at the hospital. But it was too tacky. Yet I would not put it past the doctor to do something like that. I was sure that I was putting too much into it. Nonetheless, I was not going to find out the truth ever anyway so it did not really matter that much.

"How come you're still here?" I asked and he leaned against the bus stop sign.

"Oh, I just wanted to get Anko something for the Koizora festival now that I'm here anyway."

"Is it already time for that? Well, what did you get her?"

"Nothing. I could not find anything interesting." He shrugged and took out a pack of cigarettes. "You want one?"

My eyes were glued to the pack for a few seconds. "... No, I quit."

"Smart. I never thought of you as a smoker anyway."

"You didn't?"

"Nope. Not at all."

I felt kind of stupid and busted. But as long as he did not find out he was the reason why I tried acting tough and cool, it was going to be alright. I would rather die a slow and painful death than have to see the face he would make when realizing it. Would he think of me as a freak or maybe find it cute?

"So," I started, "Are you planning on giving her fuck tickets?"

He gave me an amused look, "Sometimes you really surprise me, Iruka. You have a dirty mind. It's kinda creepy actually." He shook his head with a lighthearted laughter as cigarette smoke surrounded his face.

"I guess I could always just buy her a ring."

My ears perked and my head shot up.

A ring? Was he implying that he was thinking about marrying her? Oh no, I was losing to her. Anko! That woman had zero life experience and she would never be able to relate to Kakashi's history. She was uninteresting. Why would he pick her over me. Was it maybe just to get rid of me? Would he really go to such drastic measures to make me back down? I mean... Marriage?!

I felt a nudge on my shoulder. "Relax, I'm only joking." He was smiling again.

"Of course you were."

"Haha, I love watching you freak out like that."

Behind the playful laughter, I heard a man speaking his mind. It could just be me, but it really sounded like he was genuine. He had spoken of me in the same sentence where he used the word love. It made my stomach turn in a painful way and it felt like my heart tried to clog my throat.

"That's our bus. Are you coming, Iruka?"

I nodded, not being able to speak.

Kakashi threw away his cigarette and his hand fell down along his side. I imagined how it would feel like to hold it. His hand. Would it still be warm on a cold December night? Could I lean against him as we were taken home by the bus? Would he kiss me goodbye or maybe invite me to his place once we got off the bus?

Those were the things I imagined while sitting next to him. Watching him follow the passing trees and houses through the window seat I had let him have.

Kami, if he had known about the boner I had to hide for half of the trip, I would have killed myself.

A few days later, I returned home from Nagoya yet again without having any luck finding a job. It was so depressing. Especially because I ran in to a lot of people I knew when I had to walk around town all the time, begging for a job. And when those people asked what I was currently doing, the most correct answer would be, "You see, I'm sort of a maid at the moment. See the collar? Yeah, just follow the chain from it back to Hidan." He basically owned my ass. Not that he ever toke advantage of it, but it sure would be nice to at least be able to make my own decisions without having to consider Hidan every time. I could not randomly throw a party - well, not that I had anyone to invite anyway - because I was living in Hidan's house. Okay, I suppose he would let me if I asked, but it's the essence of having to ask for permission that bothered me. I felt like a child. I felt so incompetent. The first thing I would do when luck would finally strike me with a glorious job - or just a job that pays money monthly - I would find my own place again.

I picked up the news paper that lay in the kitchen and skimmed it as I walked in the direction of my room.

Then something happened that made me stop in my tracks. A scream. It came from upstairs.

I stood still for a moment, just listening. Maybe it had been my imagination.

"Had enough yet, you filthy animal?!" It sounded a lot like Kakuzu. But how could it be? He rarely used such language.

"Forgive me. Please, stop hitting me!"

There was no doubt about it. That second voice belonged to Hidan's. What the hell was going on? Was Kakuzu seriously beating up Hidan? Why?!

A piercing scream made me stop questioning and instead take action. Something was going on that was not supposed to. That was for sure. No matter what Hidan had done to make Kakuzu hit him like that, I could not just stand by and listen. I had to do something.

Soon, I was sprinting up the stairs, running down to Hidan's room and flinging the door open.

And then I realized I had just made the biggest mistake of my life.

There they were, in the middle of some role play on the bed, naked. Well, partly. Except for all the gear they were wearing.

Hidan was strapped to the bed. He had some questionable red marks and scars on his chest and stomach. Those marks were definitely fresh.

Kakuzu was standing with one leg on each side of the helpless millionaire. He was wearing a look far more guilty, far more surprised and far more embarrassed than a kid who had been caught stealing cookies right out of the jar. Hidan did not look to pleased either, but his blush was no match against Kakuzu's fire red cheeks.

The doctor's grip loosened around his weapon and a line of blood trickled down Hidan's chest from one of the marks.

I, of course, had to exit with the worst thinkable phrase, "Sorry. Just checking."

Kakuzu did not speak to me for a long while after that. He could not even stand being in the same room as me.

Hidan was more open about it. Not that I actually wanted him to tell me about their rather odd sex life. I had gotten more than enough details from those few seconds than was good for me. I would never even dream of burdening you with them.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have been able to imagine Kakuzu being into BDSM. Furthermore, who would have thought he wanted to be the one in control?

My "landlord" had not seen it coming either, but he did not mind playing along once in a while. He loved how cheerful and caring Kakuzu got after being allowed to come out with all his frustrations on someone. It was not really Hidan's thing. That was why he did not mind being the submissive part either. He would never feel comfortable hurting his boyfriend.

I found it strange that Hidan did not express that he got any kind of pleasure out of it, considering the self harming group he had once been a part of. Maybe it just brought back bad memories. In that case, I could not help but admire the albino a little. He would go through something like that solely to make his partner happy. That is something. But I also understood why Kakuzu could not look me in the eyes. Sweet, innocent Kakuzu was the side we all knew and probably the only side of him he ever wanted us to see.

Oh well, it was a somehow fun and rather unfortunate incident, but Kakuzu would get over it eventually. People always do if they really want to.

One of the following days everyone gathered together at our place. For the first time ever, I got to see Itachi's girlfriend, Mei. She had long, red hair with a set of pretty green eyes. And she was a teacher or something like that. I could not help but think she was a tad out of Itachi's league. Or maybe I only saw his not so attractive sides. Or maybe Mei did not mind. One thing was for sure, though; I was glad they did not bring that devil, Sasuke, with them. Apparently, the Uchihas' parents were on one of their rare visits and so they promised to take care of Sasuke and Itachi's child that evening. Pretty funny how Itachi had to ask his parents to take care of their own child. But no wonder they left Sasuke with Itachi. I would go insane too if I had to be around that kid for very long. In all honesty, I felt bad for Itachi... And Sasuke. It was almost like their parents had abandoned them. It was a good thing they had Mei then. She seemed like a very likeable person from the moment she stepped inside the room.

Everyone was dressed in their festive kimonos. Well, I was not, but I obviously was not going. Koizora, the festival that celebrated lovers and the affection they shared. I shared no such thing with anyone. At this time a year, I always felt a tiny bit more alone than I did on any other day.

"Sake?" Kakuzu asked and I snapped out of it.

"No thanks."

He poured me a drink anyway and everyone raised their cups.

"To love!" Anko shouted happily and gulped down her drink.

"What a sappy thing to toast to. You're such a romantic." Hidan drank his sake while receiving a discreet glare from Kakuzu.

"I don't think it's sappy at all. After all, isn't it the Koizora festival we're going to?" Kakuzu smiled at Anko who blew him a kiss.

"That' why you're my favorite," she said, but leaned closer into her real favorite who happened to be mine too.

"So, is this the year you'll finally get down on one knee?" Kakashi asked, looking at Itachi.

The black haired guy shrugged his shoulders, but did not say anything. I was told that they always asked him that same question every year.

We drank a couple more cups of sake before they started getting up.

"Are we ready to go?" Hidan asked.

"Almost, but Iruka isn't dressed yet."

I was rather surprised when Anko suddenly stated that. No one had seemed to notice until then, but now they were all staring at me.

"I'm staying home." The staring did not stop.

"What?! How come?" the dark haired woman exclaimed. I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable.

"I just don't think you should go to that kind of festival without a date." I had not exactly prepared what to say in a situation like this. I thought it was a good excuse, but the rest of the bunch did not think so. They began bugging me and told me to get dressed anyway.

"You can bring Mei as your date. I don't mind," Itachi said and the couple smiled at me. I found it weird that he offered me his girlfriend, but they did appear as an weird couple from the very beginning. She did not seem to mind either. I was not used to couples that were not clingy. Not when I lived with Mr. and Mr. Clingy.

"No, it's fine. I don't see why it's so important that I go anyway. Zabuza is not here either."

"He has an actual excuse. Work." Hidan reminded me, though everyone knew Zabuza purposely made sure he had to work on Koizora night. But no one actually checked if he was working.

"Come on, just go change," Kakashi said suddenly. He did not sound annoyed.

I looked at everyone for a second. "I don't even have a kimono. You're all gonna be late if you don't go now."

"I figured as much. That's why I brought an extra. I'll go get it," Kakuzu said excitedly and ran up to his and Hidan's room before I could stop him.

They all smiled at me, but it faded away when I said, "I'm not going."

"Don't be like tha-"

Anko cut off Hidan. "If he really doesn't wanna go, you shouldn't force him."

I noticed she had taken Kakashi's hand. It was like she wanted me to stay at home. Was that really it? I still did not know if Kakashi had told her about what had happened between us. My confession and all. Maybe he did not even have to. Maybe she could feel it.

But if Kakashi had told her, then who else knew? I did not think she was one to gossip, Kakashi neither. Hidan knew something, I was sure. Not any details, but more than enough for my liking. Kakuzu had to know as much as Hidan. Itachi and Mei did not necessarily know anything. And Zabuza. I did not think he wanted to know and so he did not ask or try and find out anything. He was ignorant on purpose when it came to that.

If that was the case, was she trying to distance me from Kakashi? She was probably doing some kind of victory dance inside of her head at that moment. She was happy I did not tag along.

I did not stop staring at her until Kakuzu stood in front, blocking my vision and holding out the kimono in front of me.

I took it.

The festival was beautiful - and that was and understatement. I had only watched it from a distance, no one ever wanted to go with me back then. Well, not that that had changed, I was a third wheel, just walking along with the couples I knew.

I wanted to be grateful to them for dragging me along, but expressing gratitude was not my thing. It felt strange being the only one without a date, but unlike what I expected, no one seemed to notice that I was on my own. I even received a smile once in a while from various strangers. Most were probably outsiders and did not know about the rumors, but to me, it still counted.

Hidan wanted to go play games and try and win something for Kakuzu. I waited patiently for the tan one to call Hidan childish and stupid, but he never did. He only followed him happily. Maybe this festival really did bring the love out in people.

Anko tucked Kakashi's hand and pointed at the finest restaurant. That bitch. She was totally trying to empty Kakashi's wallet. Could not she just settle with something less? Was not it enough that he had agreed to come to the festival with her? I guess some people were just like that. When you give them a finger, they take the entire arm.

It turned out she was not trying to convince him to go in there. She was just pointing at Itachi and Mei that were shown to a table. How they had gotten one, I had no idea. I was not even sure if you slipped the waiter some extra cash that they would make room for one. Could connections be the answer? You did not just get into that restaurant. Not on the Koizora festival. And those two came along with us and we did not exactly show up early. Itachi had had to pull some strings and I definitely needed to ask him later just what strings he had played with.

"I can't wait for the fireworks," Anko squealed excitedly and linked her arm with Kakashi's.

"I heard they were going to be even more impressive this year," I told her and tried not to sound as if I had never experienced them close up myself.

"Me too. They should be extra special from the park," Kakashi added.

I raised an eyebrow. "But people never go there. I thought they said the sky was clearest on Koizora lane."

"They do, but from the right spot in the park, it should be better. When there's no other people around, it's just you and your date."

"We should go there then, Kaka-chan!"

"Let's wait and see. I haven't watched the fireworks from the street before so I wanna see what all the fuss is about."

"Why haven't you seen it before?" The words just kind of slipped out. I did not mean to ask that. It was rude. What if he had not watched it for the same reasons as me. Kami, Iruka, you moron!

"The festival is only once a year and I haven't lived in the village for very long. So I haven't had many chances. I never told you that?" They both looked at me and I felt guilty for asking.

"I suppose you have."

We walked down Koizora lane. There was a lot more people in the village than I thought. Unless most were tourists, but I did not think that was the case because I recognized a lot.

Kakashi and Anko were walking a few steps in front of me. They were talking and laughing, making me feel really bad about myself. I should not be there with them. I bet they wished I would just go home and stay there for the rest of the night. Kakashi looked so happy and so did Anko. I was not sure if she really was in love with him or if it was just an act. I supposed she could have done better if she was only after money. It was not like he owned millions or anything. It could just be that she found him mysterious. But then would she leave him if he stopped wearing his mask? I knew I would not. He had a very attractive face. It was not like he was the only one in the world with a couple of flaws. Besides, was not it the imperfections that made every person special? You know, beautiful in their own way. Even if I would stay by his side, it would probably never be more than a fantasy. He had made it pretty clear that he did not want that kind of relationship with me. But I could not lose hope. Not even when I was walking right behind him, watching him send loving gazes to his big bosomy girlfriend.

"Are you okay with eating here?" Anko turned around and looked at me.

"Uhm, sure." I had always wanted to try that restaurant Mei and Itachi were at, but even if I got in, I would not be able to pay the bill anyway. So the place we were at could be just as good as any other.

"Cool. I'm meeting a friend here. Wait till you see her, Iruka, she's such a cutie."

"Really?" I said completely uninterested while looking at some bypassing people.

"She should be here any minute now. Will you two go get us a table for four?"

"Of course." Kakashi squeezed Anko's hand and sent her a smile before walking into the restaurant, me being right behind him.

"I didn't know someone was gonna join us," I said, while what I actually wanted to ask was that I did not know Anko had any friends. But I stopped myself just in time.

"Sorry, I forgot to tell you. I've met her once. She seems really nice."

"You don't say."

They were making an awful big deal out of pointing out how sweet this girl was. I could not care less and at least Kakashi should know that. Apparently, he did not mind reminding me there was other fish in the sea. Or rather fish of the opposite gender. It was damn annoying.

We got a table and sat down with a cup of sake while we waited for the latecomers.

The waiter asked us twice to leave if we were not going to order before the two girls finally showed up.

I was... shocked... to put it lightly.

"H-hey," said the girl with waistlong, black hair.

"Iruka, this is Hinata-chan. Hinata-chan, this is Iruka," Anko introduced. "And you two already know each other." She looked from Kakashi to the girl beside her.

"Nice to meet you." She bowed, her nervous features being hidden behind the curtain of hair.

I was not sure if that girl had forgotten about me or if she just pretended like she did not know me. At least it did not seem like Anko was aware of our previous encounter. But I guess nearly getting raped was not something girls loved to brag about. I had not talked about it either so I did not even know why I expected that she had. Maybe because all girls were such chatternaggers.

"Take a seat so we can order before that waiter tries to kick us out again," Kakashi chuckled and I nodded when his eyes reached mine.

"Ha, he probably just did not want a fag couple taking up all the space."

Everyone besides Anko put on a strange grimace and looked down. I figured she just had not thought that sentence through before throwing it at us, but it was very inappropriate. No one knew what to say. I felt targeted., she knew the rumors. Why would she say something like that in my presence?

I glanced at Kakashi. The small part of his cheeks that you could see was slightly pink. Unlike Hinata whose face was just plain red. She sure seemed like the careful and easily embarrassed type. What the hell was a girl like that doing with Anko?

"I'm gonna go get the waiter," Anko said when her tongue had finally untied.

"Great," the three of us said in unison. Could it be more awkward?

The conversation did not really get any further than that until our plates were filled. Anko was obviously the one breaking the ice.

"You know what, Iruka, Hinata actually teaches at the school you went to."

I looked up at the black haired girl. "Really? So, what do you teach?" I tried my best to appear interested, but it was hard when I knew she supported the place in the world I hated the most.

"Oh... Well... Right now, I-I'm mostly teaching the the youngest kids so it's ju-just the basics."

"Come one, don't be so modest." Anko pushed her friendly with her shoulder. "She teaches both Japanese, music and social studies."

"That's really impressive," I answered, sounding no where near impressed.

"Y-you think?" The girl blushed and looked the other way. She sure was a shy one.

A moment passed before a question came to my mind. "Why did you choose to work at that school?"

She looked at me like she had not expected me to talk. "Well... I-I didn't have much of a choice. They just happened to be missing a teacher."

"Hmm."

It seemed like she wanted more of a reaction from me, but I honestly did not know what to say. I felt sorry for her to be stuck in a shithole like that just because nothing else was available. She was even overqualified for that job. I would never be anything but not qualified. I had no certificate to prove that I was smart enough to get better jobs than I had already had.

"Did..."

My eyes landed back on her. Was she actually being the one to carry on the conversation? She only seemed like the one that would talk if she was forced to it.

"Did you like go-going to school there?"

I stared at her for a second. Then looked away. "Not particularly."

"How come?"

My gaze dropped to my plate of sushi. I was silent with no clue to what I should respond.

"Man, I hate nostalgia. Shouldn't you eat your fish while it's still fresh?" Kakashi stuffed a Ebi into his mouth before smiling at us. Even though he looked goofy, the only thing I felt like doing right at that very moment was lean to the side and kiss him. He spared me for answering that awful question. He knew I did not like talking about my childhood. He was so... considerate. If Anko had not been there, I probably would have kissed him. I would not even care that we were in public.

"So, how do you two know each other? You never told me." Kakashi asked.

"Hinata and I went to the same private school. The one that lies outside the village."

"Private school. Now that's fancy. I didn't even know you had rich parents."

Sometimes I wondered just how much he actually knew about Anko.

"It's because they're not. They used all their money to send me to that school. They don't like public schools. Hinata is the spoiled brat," she laughed.

"I wouldn't call me spoiled," the black haired girl said innocently with a dissatisfied look on her face.

"I'm only kidding. If you had been one of those snobbish, high class bitches, I would have never hung out with you in the first place."

"I see."

Silence fell upon our table again and we settled with listening to the peppy village. I was happy that there was some background noise because I would have gone insane if I had to listen to myself and the others chewing, sinking and slurping.

Unfortunately, when someone spoke again, it was someone who wanted to speak to me.

"Wha-what do you do, Iruka-san? For a living."

"Me?"

The girl nodded.

"Not much."

"Uh... What do you mean?"

Why was she so interested anyway? "I'm unemployed."

"Oh." She regretted asking. It was so obvious.

"Hey, Kakashi-san." Everyone looked to the right. "And Iruka-san. Nice to see you here." It was Tenzou and he had a woman companion. A woman that looked strangely familiar.

"Hey boss," Kakashi greeted. I had not used that name with Tenzou for so long that it nearly made me want to go back and beg him for a job.

"Good evening, Hyuuga-san." The blonde woman with the biggest tits I had ever seen looked at Hinata and gave a small bow.

"Tsunade-sama," she said back and bowed her head.

That name. That face. It could not be. Not by any chance. Was it really her? No. She did not look like she had aged a day since then. It simply could not be my old principle, Lady Tsunade?! It sounded like her. It looked like her. It was the right name. But... she could not possible look that young and hot at her age!

And what the hell was Tenzou doing with her? He was at least a few years younger than her. Not that I could not imagine Tsunade as a cougar. But Tenzou would never date someone like that, would he?

"Sorry for interrupting your dates. We just wanted to say hello," Tenzou said and both him and Tsunade bowed again.

Before I could tell them that I was not actually on a date, they left. I guess it kind of looked like a date, but still, I did not want them to get any funny ideas.

It was nice hearing Tenzou's voice again. He was the one person that I really missed from my old life. Sometimes I wondered if I would have been better off staying at the supermarket for the rest of my life, not taking any chances or trying to make a real life for myself. Everything had become too complicated after I was fired. Somehow it seemed like it was just yesterday I sat behind the counter, only dreaming about ever talking to Kakashi. In reality, it was already a long time ago.

We finished eating and Anko started nagging Kakashi for her present. He gave in after a few minutes and handed her an envelope. She opened it quickly with ease. It always took me years to open envelopes because I did not want to rip it open in fear of ruining the content.

"A weekend stay at a hotel! Aw, Kakashi you naughty boy!" she shouted and the pale girl and I lowered our heads in shame. Why did she always have to be so loud?

"I thought you needed a little vacation after all those rehearsal hours." Kakashi smiled with his eyes. He had already put the full mask back on – luckily, because that other mask with the hole in it made him look so foolish.

"That's so sweet of you. I'm having a blast at the theater, but sometimes it's hard being around those people all the time. I'll look forward to a weekend where it'll be just us two."

Kakashi just chuckled.

Anko's present was a secret that he would have to wait to get till later. I had an idea of what it could be and it was just so cheesy.

"Here's your present."

I looked at the girl opposite me in surprise.

"What?"

She held out a wrapped box in front of me. "Your present," she repeated.

"Yeah, I heard you the first time, but why are you giving me a present?"

Kakashi and Anko had gotten awfully quiet and I felt a lump start to form in my throat.

"Be-because... It's wha-what you do?" She looked at Anko confusedly.

And then I realized what was going on. Why was this happening to me? Why the hell would they do something like that?!

I gave the blameworthy people a look, then got up from my chair and placed the amount of money I had eaten for on the table before walking out of the restaurant without a word. I heard someone getting up behind me, but I did not want to look back.

"Iruka!" Kakashi was trying to catch up to me. "Iruka, wait!"

I sped up my pace a little, but he grabbed onto my shoulder in no time and forced me to look at him.

"What are you doing?" he asked, clinging to the pathetic small chance that I had not noticed what they were trying to do.

We stepped further into a side street so we would not make a scene.

"How could you set me up like that?!" I asked angrily and glared at him.

"I'm sorry, Iruka. We just thought it wouldn't hurt you to go on a date."

"I never said I wanted a date. And I would never have let you set me up with someone if you had actually asked me. It's embarrassing!"

"Calm down, we only tried to help you."

"I don't need your help." I could not look at him. "And... why would you try and set me up with her when you know..." I paused and glanced at him as he looked away from me.

"Iruka... please, don't bring that up again."

"Why not? Are you embarrassed? Then how couldn't you figure out this was gonna make me mad? It was so fucking inconsiderate. And you make me look even more like a fool when tricking me like that. I bet Anko was the one suggesting it. Am I right? You told her everything." I was aware that I sounded like a hysterical bitch, but I was just so frustrated. How could he do that when he knew he was the one I liked. What a fine way to call me a freak.

Suddenly, he got my attention by grabbing my kimono and pulling me closer.

"I didn't tell anyone... Okay? I'm not gonna. I suggest you do the same," he whispered through his teeth.

I looked at him for a moment, then wiggled out of his grip. What the hell was his problem?

I snorted and turned around. "After this, that was the most humiliating thing of my life. So trust me. I'm the last person to tell anyone." And then I walked off. Kakashi did not follow, only asked me quietly not to go.

I wandered around for half an hour or so without any apparent wish to go anywhere specific. My mind was rushing.

Love did not seem to be something Kami wanted me to experience and it was constantly rubbed in my face that I was apparently the only person on the planet who did not have a special someone that loved me back. Even Tenzou seemed to have found someone and he was not the dating type. He was too focused on running his business.

Me. I was not too busy for anything, but there was still no luck for me in that matter.

When I reached the park for the third time, I took note that you could hear the music from the festival. I was the only one in the area. I had not passed many when walking around. Either people went to the festival or they stayed indoors. Obviously, I should have done the latter.

The sky was clear, just as it should be on this exact evening. Now that I was out, I might as well watch the fireworks from a distance yet another year. Kakashi had said it was supposed to be beautiful from the park.

I found myself a good spot and decided to lay down and wait for the clock to strike midnight.

It was nice outside. Warm, but not too humid. The cold breeze that blew once in a while kept my body from becoming too hot. Slowly, my eyes closed and I got lost in thoughts. It was easy when you lay on soft grass a dry summer night.

I wondered.

I wondered if Hidan was going to kick me out if he and Kakuzu got tired of never being together alone.

I wondered what Zabuza was doing. What kinds of things did he do when he was alone?

I wondered if there was anyone in a spaceship at the time. Did they miss their family? Maybe only people without family went to space. I heard the moon was far away.

I wondered why you felt ticklish when grass caressed you. What did it mean to be ticklish anyway? Why did the body feel weird when being touched lightly? It could not have something to do with the erogenous zones.

I wondered why people cared about how they looked like and how others looked like. Why was it more important to dress to look good than to dress for the occasion? Why bother? Underneath, we were all the same. Even though we had different thinking patterns, there still was something called psychology. You could learn to understand the human mind, which only proved we were less complicated than most thought. On the other hand, no one would ever be able to understand someone completely. Even if you read someone's mind, you would not understand them all the way through. Everyone had their own ways of understanding things, their own experiences to put into perspective. One could only tell someone half of what they actually felt and thought because somehow, they were not even aware of those other feelings and thoughts and did not really understand them that well themselves. That was my theory.

I wondered if people turned gay or if they were born gay. Most gay people claimed the last mentioned as the correct answer. But I think my biology teacher said something about gay people actually having a error in their system. But if you told a gay person that, they would probably freak out. And why is that? Just because they have an error it does not mean they are much different from anybody else. Most people have errors.

I wondered if Kakashi was planning on getting married. Would Anko be the one? Or were they just together until something better came along?

Would I ever leave the village?

I must have been half asleep because when someone said, "Excuse me," I was not sure if I was back at the supermarket, serving a customer, or just sleeping in the park.

My eyes opened and I sat up just to realize I was still the Iruka with short hair that was alone yet again on Koizora night.

"Uhm... I..."

I turned to look behind me with a jerk. There was someone. It was that girl again.

"I'm... I'm sorry to bo-bother you." She looked very strained and nervous, fidgeting with her fingers. I just looked at her. "I'm sorry for what ha-happened tonight. If I had known that you weren't aware tha-"

"It's okay," I said. "I shouldn't have acted like I did. It obviously wasn't your fault."

Her cheeks went red and she looked down at her feet, bowing slightly. "I still want to apologize."

"Me too."

The atmosphere was kind of awkward, but it was not too uncomfortable.

"He-ere's your present," she stuttered and held the same wrapped box out in front of me with her two small hands.

"You don't have to give me anything." It was a sweet gesture, but I really did not see any reason for a gift exchange. Besides, I did not have anything I could give her.

"It's a tha-thank you present... For when you saved me."

"It's not necessary and I don't have anything for you."

"Please... accept my gift." She was very determined. I actually knew what it was like being in her shoes. I had given her a straight out rejection. Just like Kakashi had given me. You feel helpless and alone. I really did not want to take her present, but I could not bare to see her begging me like that. She was only trying to make herself feel good and to make us even. There was not a reason why I should deny her that pleasure.

I took the box and asked without words if I should wrap it up. She encouraged me with a small nod.

It was a leather necklace with a silver pendant that was shaped as a dolphin. I was a little too old to wear jewelry that matched my name, but I still could not keep myself from smiling. I was not sure why, it just brought back that bubbly feeling I had whenever I was with Minato.

"Do you li-like it?"

I looked up at her and nodded. "I love it. Thank you."

She blushed harder and smiled happily. Like I had just taken some kind of burden off her shoulders.

"I... I should head home." She turned around to leave as if she was in a rush.

Before I was able to think one single thought, I said, "You should be able to get a better view of the firework from here... Well, supposedly."

She turned back and gave me a questioning look. "Oh... I... didn't know." It looked like she was in two minds about whether or not to keep walking.

"Wanna join me? There's not long till midnight. Would be a waste to go home now."

"Uhm..." She looked in the direction of Koizora lane, then her house and then back at me. "O-okay."

I tapped the spot beside me and she sat down.

"You look good tonight," I said for no other reason than to make her feel comfortable. I was her date, after all, so was not I the one who was supposed to tell her how pretty she was? I was more of a gentleman than I thought. Probably because I had spent countless hours listening to Kakuzu's lectures on what it meant to have manners. He sure had his hands full with Hidan.

She did not dare to look me in the eyes. "Tha-thank y-you."

"No problem."

We sat for some time just listening to each other breathing and the distant noise from the merry lane. So far, she was actually good company. She did not talk too much, she was careful not to say anything wrong, and just not annoying in general like Anko was or like Hidan and Kakuzu could be sometimes.

"How come you agreed to go on a date with someone you didn't know?" Being quiet was nice, but even I liked chit chatting every now and then.

"I... didn't have a date. And I wanted to go. But actually... I was not sure if I wanted to go with a stranger until Anko showed me your picture. I just wanted a chance to thank you again."

"No need to thank me. I was in the area anyway."

"But most people would never have gotten involved. What you did was very admirable."

Now my face flushed. I did not know what to say. Kakashi had said something similar about me before. But he and she were the only ones that had ever called my actions anything near admirable. I was not used to compliments at all yet.

There was a sudden whizzing sound and then an explosion.

"Look," Hinata said and gazed up at the sky that filled with beautiful strings of color.

I did not answer right away, but instead took in the sight above us. "It really is beautiful from the park."

First it was a white and yellow firework. Then a purple. Then green. Then one with lots of colors all mixed together and a lot more followed.

"Iruka-san?"

My attention turned to Hinata. Her pale, blue eyes were still intensely watching the fleeting art. Like she did not dare to look anywhere else.

"You look good too."

I smiled to myself and looked back up.

When I first saw the promotion poster for the Koizora festival months back, I did not think I would be going just like the previous years. But yet I went without a date and without a real desire to go or any expectations to what would happen. It turned out alright, I guess. Now I had a date and we were watching the colorful sky together. It was more than I had hoped to get out of it. The festival had not been a complete waste of time after all. Maybe I would even consider hanging out with this girl after this. She was a nice change compared to my so-called friends.

"Hey, guys. What are you doing down here?"

We both looked behind us just to see the entire gang walking down towards us.

"Same as you, I guess."

Hidan spoke again, "We came to look at the fireworks. It was too crowdy up there."

"We're actually on our way home. My parents won't be in town for long so better be present while they're still here," Itachi said.

His arm was around Mei who cheerfully added, "It was nice meeting you." And soon after they took off.

"So," Hidan started. "What were you two doing down here all by yourself?" He was wearing that perverted grin.

"It's none of your business." I knew I made myself sound guilty, but Hidan did not deserve an answer when he was being nosy. Not that I was usually any better at that point.

"If you wanna be alone, we'll leave." He teased.

"Do whatever you want."

"You're sure we're not interrupting something?" Hidan kept on going.

Hinata started looking a little uncomfortable. Kakuzu and Anko were just smiling like they wished something was really going on.

Kakashi did not say or do much and when I looked at him, he looked away and adjusted his mask. I got this strange feeling that something was wrong, but I could not tell why he was acting all weird so suddenly.

Everyone settled down beside us and as they watched the fireworks, something else suddenly struck me as odd.

"Where's Asuma?" I asked.

"That party pooper didn't wanna come. He thought it was stupid when he didn't have a girlfriend," the albino answered.

Is that so. I remember another person who did not want to come for the exact same reason, which made it sound like everyone was in on this - let's set Iruka up on a blind date - thing. I felt deceived and ridiculous. How much more pathetic can it get? Even my own friends did not trust that I would be able to find myself a girlfriend if I wanted to. But I guess it did not matter. They had no idea how complicated my situation was.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Whaaaat uuup dooogs :O!

This chapter has been under development for so long and I apologize sincerely for that! But we just got out of the busiest month of the year and I almost just finished the biggest assignment you get during the three years of the Gymnasium so I really have been super busy. Still, I'm sorry. But as I wrote in my last A/N, I'm not abandoning this so don't worry! I hope the length make up for my delay a little. I wrote the entire story on my phone so I had no idea of how long it was. I thought it was around 4000 words or something, but I sure as hell got myself a surprise when I checked the word count when finally transferring it to my computer. NEARLY 10.000 WORDS! I can't believe I wrote that much on my phone D: And Kami, did I have troubles with getting the chapter from my phone to my computer? Yes, I think I did. It was done Sunday, but I couldn't get it over till today and now I used all my spare time to check this through. So I hope you'll appreciate that 'cause I had hoped to watch some Fullmetal Alchemist. Now I'm just going to sleep -_-'

And thank you so much to Kurosuisen for helping me out with chapter! I don't know when it would have been done if she hadn't!

Anyway, I'm happy that it's finally done. Now I'm wondering if anybody is even still reading it since next month the story will "turn a year." This is the first story that I've put this much effort into and I can't believe I haven't got tired of writing it.

A huge apology to Good Boy-Chan who has not gotten her story yet! I will try to finish it soon now that school shouldn't be so busy anymore and now that Anything Else? has been updated again. I'll try my hardest, promise! I really do feel bad for making you wait this long!

If you wanna check out my deviantArt account - that only contains drawings and NOT stories, my account name is LoveToTheCucumber there as well. I have some art for Anything Else? there if you're interested ^^ Also, one awesome person that I have mentioned before made some art for Anything Else? and it made me super happy! So if anyone is doing or have done the same, don't hesitate to contact me and send me a link. I would love to see your art :D!

See ya' soon again, hopefully :D!