Author's Note;
/Disclaimer/
None of the characters involved in this fic are mine~
Hi again readers. I just wanted to say to ignore my earlier mention of this being a three or four chaptered fic. I've got it mapped out for ten now, so whether that's a good thing or not I'll let you decide xD It's all because I decided that Sakura wasn't a sex-on-the-first-date kind of girl xD
In the mean time, thanks to everyone who reviewed, subscribed, favourited or read this. And again, reviews are much appreciated :3
And special thanks this time goes to NoaShi for beta-ing this for me :D She's awesome!
Anyway, here's the second chapter. Enjoy~
Chapter 2 –
Last Minute Preparations
When Sakura awoke the following morning, she was feeling quite content. She'd successfully asked Kakashi to go to the festival with her and nothing too embarrassing or horrible had happened to her, and even chatting with Ino before she finally got to go to bed hadn't been that bad. She opened one bright green eye lazily and peered at the alarm clock on her bedside table. It was 10:05 am which – her slightly groggy mind attempted to do the sum – meant that she'd had over twelve hours of sleep. Yes, life was certainly good! She stretched her legs gingerly before reaching her arms above her head and arching her back. Sakura grinned to herself. She could get used to this! After the past month away from home, she could gladly say that there was no Naruto to wake her up too early because he was excited or ready to go, or Kakashi to sneakily unzip her sleeping bag and throw it open, leaving her very susceptible to the elements if there was no sign of her moving to get up. Admittedly, the latter of the two options she didn't tend to mind so much, mainly because of the person doing it. But however you chose to look at it, mornings with her team proved… trying at the best of times.
She was about to roll over and have another ten minutes to herself when she heard a series of heavy knocks hammering no her front door and an all too familiar voice calling out to her.
"Sakura, I know you're in there! Open up Forehead, we've got a little shopping date, remember?"
Ino.
She had the worst timing on the planet! Or, rather, she should have known that her happy feeling was too good to last. She groaned and buried her head in the pillow again, hoping that if she left Pig out there long enough she'd get bored and go home. But realistically there was probably as much chance of that happening as there was seeing a real pig fly past her window.
…Then again, that could happen if she decided to send Ino flying for daring disturb her peaceful morning. It was a theory she'd have to test someday.
"Oi, Forehead! Don't ignore me, lemme in!"
Sakura heaved a sigh before dragging herself out from under the covers. "Alright Pig. I'm comin'!" The knocking started up again and Sakura growled. "Didn't you hear? I'm coming!" She shuffled slowly through her bedroom doorway and made a b-line to the door of her apartment, only bumping into the sofa on her way. When she'd opened the door, Ino just stood there grinning before pushing past her and disappearing into her flat. Sakura let out another sigh, sending a silent prayer to whomever may have been listening for the patience to deal with Ino at this time of the morning. The blonde has settled herself on the couch and was eyeing Sakura with a quirked brow. "What?" Sakura asked, aiming one of her speciality frowns back at her best friend and folding her arms across her chest.
"Aren't you going to get dressed? Unless you're planning on wearing that out?" She gestured at the oversized t-shirt Naruto has lent her a year or so ago when they'd been out on a mission and her usual sleeping attire had been crapped on by a friendly bird. She hadn't yet got around to giving him it back.
Sakura felt her cheeks warm at Ino's statement. She huffed and quickly marched back to her bedroom calling over her shoulder; "Wait there. And don't touch anything, I'll be ready in a minute." The sound of Ino's snickering followed her into her room as she pushed the door to for some privacy. She resisted the urge to sigh again and headed over to her wardrobe, picking out what she needed. Thankfully all her stuff was pretty much mix and match-able, so the vest top, shirt and pair of shorts she had found amidst the neatly arranged clothes hangers all went together okay. After fixing her serious bed hair in the mirror, she quickly dashed into the bathroom to brush her teeth and then walked back into the living room, noticing Ino had grabbed one of the magazines from the shelf on the coffee table.
"This is all old news," Ino said dryly when she noticed Sakura standing by the sofa.
"Well duh, I haven't had a chance to pick up any new ones in the oh, half a day I've been home." She said a little irritably, sticking her tongue out at Ino so she knew that she didn't mean anything by her comment.
Pig responded in a similar fashion before dumping the out of date magazine back on the coffee table and getting to her feet. "So, ready to go?" She asked, straightening her skirt.
Sakura wandered over to the coat stand where she grabbed a small bag to put her purse in and then headed over to the door where she found her keys and shook them at her friend. "I've probably forgotten something," She grumbled, opening the door and gesturing for Ino to go out ahead of her.
"Nope, you've got your purse and me, I think you're sorted."
"Oh, I'm so glad to hear that Pig." Sakura said teasingly.
"I thought you would be." Ino replied, letting Sakura's comeback slide. The pair walked out of Sakura's apartment building and down into town, heading past a variety of places serving hot food and delicious looking breakfast items. Sakura found her mouth beginning to water a little and her stomach growled irritably, reminding her she'd skipped food this morning.
"Ino, can we stop somewhere for breakfast, please?" She asked cheerfully, watching her friend carefully.
"Sakura, you should have thought of that when you were at home. We are going shopping, and then maybe after that we'll get lunch."
Sakura's stomach grumbled again at the mention of the itinerary for the morning as though complaining that it couldn't hold out for that long. Sakura sympathised with it, she too preferred food to going shopping this time of day. "Okay." She muttered, not feeling like engaging the blonde in an argument on an empty stomach. Eventually they travelled past all of the cafés and restaurants and found themselves in the shopping district. The streets here were lined with multicoloured shops with plenty of things on display in their windows. They headed past the general clothes shops and soon came to a stop in front of a formal dress shop. Sakura eyed it warily. She wasn't usually one for dressing up, and this store promised to be the first stop of many to be made today.
"Alright Sakura, let's see what we can find you in here…" Ino said brightly, grabbing Sakura's arm and dragging her inside. Sakura groaned lightly, allowing herself to be dragged into the shop by her friend and escorted to the section they needed.
"You know, Ino, I actually have one or two kimonos and yukatas at-" Sakura started, but she was cut off by a look from the Pig of Doom.
"Yes, I'm aware of that, Sakura, but a new kimono never hurt anyone now did it? Plus, we can find you one which will have Kakashi-sensei drooling all over you if we get the right one today." Ino explained with an excited grin, turning toward the rails which were awash with brightly coloured fabric.
Sakura felt a blush creep onto her cheeks at the mention of Kakashi drooling over her. She sighed. This crush – if it could even be called that (her and Ino had some conflicting opinions on the matter) – was probably only one sided. There was no way she'd ever catch Kakashi's eye, at least not to be seen as more than a friend or team mate. The hopeless romantic in her had sided with Ino however, telling her that there was certainly a chance of something more with the Copy Nin, but the rational part of her brain told her otherwise.
Sakura rested her weight on one leg and folded her arms across her chest whilst she watched Ino lazily flick through the clothes, coat hanger by coat hanger. After skipping over a few and nearly selecting one or two, she pulled out something which she obviously though would go down well with her pink haired friend. It was a deep purple colour kimono with an obi made out of some kind of sparkly silver material. Sakura had to admit that it wasn't a bad find on Ino's part, but she wasn't altogether sold on the idea of wearing it herself.
"Whad'ya think?" Ino asked in a singsong voice, keeping her eyes fixed keenly on Sakura.
"Not bad, but I think it's something that would suit you better to be honest." Sakura shrugged, looking a little further along the rail. She stopped at a ruby red coloured sleeve and pulled it out from its fellows on the rack. "This, however," She started with a grin, "I think this is more my kind of thing." It was a deep shade of red with a lighter reddish-pink floral pattern printed all over it. The little obi which was draped around the middle of the garment was pale purple and Sakura's imagination kindly provided a picture of what it would look like on, complete with a Kakashi drooling over her. She dismissed the thought as quickly as it entered her head. Now was not the time or the place. She still felt a smile tugging at her lips though, this yukata would do fine. She didn't think that she would like anything they stumbled across – she was just in that sort of a mood – but she was willing to make an exception for this. Ino liked it too, if the way that she practically skipped over to Sakura and pushed her in the direction of the changing rooms was any indication.
"What're you waiting for? Try it on Billboard-Brow!" She said, far too cheerfully for Sakura's liking.
She rolled her eyes pointedly in Ino's direction before wandering through into the changing rooms. She did want to try it on, but didn't really appreciate Ino's overly enthusiastic push and shove technique.
She pulled the curtain across to shield herself from view and changed into the yukata. She fumbled and dropped the Obi several times before she finally managed to tie it, and eventually yanked the curtain back open and stepped out, giving Ino a twirl. The blonde nodded her approval and then peeped over Sakura's shoulder in the mirror. Sakura smoothed down the front of the yukata nervously. Ino had that intent look on her face; the one where she pursed her lips and frowned a little. She wasn't going to let Sakura just buy this one, not without having tried on others to compare it to first.
"Well?" Sakura prompted, raising her eyebrows at Ino.
"Hmmm." Was the only reply the usually loud-mouthed girl had to offer. She circled Sakura, looking at her from different angles which made Sakura suddenly feel rather self-conscious.
"Hey, would you stop? You're circling me like you're going to try and eat me, would you mind telling me what it looks like?" She snapped, closing her eyes and letting a sigh escape her, waiting for Ino's inevitably critical reply.
"It looks really good on you, Sakura." Ino said slowly, grinning at the relieved expression on her friend's face. "Buuuuut-"
"How did I know there'd be a but?" Sakura muttered under her breath, earning herself a shove in the arm from Ino.
"Because it's me you're dealing with." Ino said happily. "Anyway, I think you should try on some others first before you settle on that one. I mean, there's no use yelling at me later if we see one you liked even more than the one you bought. That and we don't want you to look good – we want you to look amazing."
Sakura had to admit she did have a point. A small one which in the grand scheme of things today didn't seem all that important, but a point none-the-less. She wasn't going to tell her that though. "Right, so what shall I do about this one?" She asked, not really wanting to send it back to the shelf just yet.
"We'll ask whoever's on the counter to look after it while we have a look elsewhere," Ino punctuated her words with a nod, as though to prove the wisdom in what she was saying.
"Right." Sakura said, fidgeting with the Obi to get it undone again. "And what are you going to do with that one?" She indicated the purple material slung over Ino's arm.
"I was thinking of asking them to hold this one for me too." She said, helping Sakura release the bow holding the Obi in place. Once it was undone, she took a step back from the pink haired girl. "Now, go get changed again Forehead." Sakura rolled her eyes before heading back behind the curtain. Yep, it was going to be a long morning all right.
Overall, the pair had been successful in their mission of finding something to wear. Much to Sakura's dismay, she'd ended up browsing the formal rails of five different shops before Ino had all but dragged her into one which had a reputation for being a teeny tiny bit on the pricey side. It was called Sanctuary, and Sakura hadn't been all that keen on entering on the grounds of being ripped off.
Ino, however, directed her friend to the sales rail where Sakura had found the perfect thing to wear – and at a discount price, too!
It was a navy yukata with delicate little pale pink cherry blossoms sewn around the hem, sleeves and along the neckline, and a pale pink Obi with a subtle flying bird pattern on it. After the limited successes they'd had in the other shops, Sakura didn't have to wait for Ino's command to go to the changing room this time round, and both girl's agreed that it did look the best out of all of the things she'd tried on so far.
After making the purchase, Ino quickly dashed back into the first shop they'd been in to and bought the little purple number she'd originally picked out for Sakura. Then she suggested lunch, and just like that, Sakura's mood had brightened even further.
Whilst walking toward the part of Konoha which housed most of the cafés and places to eat, they spotted Hinata loitering outside one of the stores they had paid a visit to earlier that morning. Loitering was really the wrong word to use; Hinata was such a sweet and innocent girl so it didn't apply to her at all. Hovering was a better description; hovering like a little bird which could be scared off at any minute. Yep, Sakura decided to herself, hovering was a much better word… Her train of thought slammed to an abrupt halt as the voice of reason came along and reminded her that it was clearly a bad idea for her to start thinking things through in too much detail on an empty stomach. She had to agree, especially when Ino ended up elbowing her in the ribs to say hi to Hinata.
"Sorry Hina-chan," She smiled apologetically before pulling the other girl into a hug. "Ino dragged me out before I had breakfast and I zoned out."
Hinata laughed shyly. "It is okay, Sakura-chan." She said, giggling now at the expression which had flashed across Ino's face.
"Well if you had of gotten your ass out of bed earlier then maybe you might have had a chance to grab something to eat." The blonde retorted.
"It's my day off, Pig, or at least that was what Tsunade and I agreed to before I went off on that last mission." Sakura defended herself. Was a lie in really that much to ask for?
"What have you been shopping for?" Hinata asked quietly, pointing at the two bags both of her friend's held.
"Something to wear for tonight," Ino replied happily, opening the bag up a fraction and letting Hinata peep inside it.
"Oh, for the festival?" She asked, nodding her head. "I still need to find a new kimono…"
"Say, Hina-chan, have you asked him yet?" Ino cut across her, grinning eagerly for a reason which escaped Sakura's comprehension.
"Ask who?" She enquired. "What?"
"She's asking Naruto to the festival dummy. Don't you remember? I told you yesterday." Ino said, rolling her eyes. It only took a moment for Sakura to realise what she meant after the prompt. "You are going to ask him, aren't you Hinata? Have you found him yet?" Ino asked, beaming at the Hyuga heir.
Hinata blushed deeply before glancing away to the ground. "N-no," She stammered. "I haven't seen N-naruto-kun yet."
Sakura could sympathise with the panicked expression that was on her friend's face. After all, it was only yesterday that Ino had decided that Sakura just had to ask Kakashi to this thing. At least she'd got it over and done with. And she was going to make sure that Naruto said yes to Hinata, mainly because she knew Hinata had had a crush on Naruto for a long time, but also because she didn't want to see her friend upset and without at date to the festival. She'd been in that position herself and it wasn't nice.
"Let's go find him then!" Ino suggested with a brilliant grin, looping each of her arms through both Hinata's and Sakura's.
"But w-wait!" Hinata tried to protest – what Sakura assumed was – her lack of mental preparation, but Ino wasn't having any of it.
"Sakura, you know him best, where are we likely to find him at lunch time on a day like today?"
"He's either going to be at Ichiraku Ramen, or speaking with Tsunade about some special missions of something," Sakura said, sighing before casting one of her best not-amused looks in Ino's direction.
"Good, then we can kill two birds with one stone. Forehead, we can get you lunch, and Hina-chan, we can get you a date."
Hinata made a little shocked sounding 'oh' noise and blushed furiously. "Don't worry Hinata," Sakura said comfortingly. "She already made me ask Kakashi to this thing."
"You… invited Kakashi-sensei to the festival?" Hinata squeaked, her voice equal parts awe and amazement. Sakura smiled back at the shocked expression on Hinata's face.
"Yep, you see, Pig here threatened me that if I didn't she would bug me until I did yesterday." Sakura said, grinning smugly at the disgruntled huff Ino made.
"I did not threaten you, Forehead, get your facts right. Don't listen to her Hina-chan."
"And don't lie Ino." Sakura said with a long suffering look at her friend. "You told me I couldn't go home until I asked him to accompany me to the festival, so I went ahead and did it. I was really nervous because I didn't have any time to prepare what I wanted to say… which would have been appreciated by the way."
"Can it Forehead, I wouldn't do that to Hinata. She's had time to prepare herself for this, haven't you Hina-chan?"
Hinata didn't respond, instead her gaze was darting around nervously and she was making a series of 'uh-oh' sounding noises. Eventually she found her voice and asked in little but a whisper; "What did Kakashi-san say to you Sakura-chan?"
Sakura stared thoughtfully at the girl for a second before smiling brightly. "He said yes, which I really wasn't expecting," She said encouragingly. "I thought he'd ask if I was feeling okay or just turn me down on the spot, but it went better than I thought it would."
"Oh." Hinata replied, pulling at her bottom lip with her teeth.
"I'm certain Naruto won't turn you down either, Hina-chan." Sakura said, letting go on Ino's arm in favour of darting around Ino and taking Hinata's free one.
They didn't say much more as they approached Ichiraku Ramen, and their conversation had ceased completely when they could clearly make out the sound of raised voices of Naruto and presumably that of another customer. Sakura felt the need to face-palm herself out of shame. That, after all, was her team mate.
"Oh yeah? Well I'm telling you that Ichiraku Ramen is the best ramen shop in town!"
"Hey, calm down! I was only saying I wasn't able to eat all of the extra pork they'd put on top of my-"
"I don't care, you can't insult the cooking at Ichiraku Ramen!" Naruto bellowed, bringing what sounded like his chopsticks down to the table with a thunk. Sakura sighed as she stepped into the shop and clocked the orange-clad moron sat slap-bang in the middle of the stools shouting the odds at two other customers.
"Naruto." She said darkly, letting go of Hinata's arm and stamping over in his direction.
"Ah, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said brightly, turning around to face her on his stool. "I was just ab-Ooof!" He didn't get a chance to finish the sentence before Sakura's hand came into sudden contact with the back of his head. "Aww, hey! What was that for, Sakura-chan?" He whined, ruffling his hair.
Sakura rolled her eyes before slipping into a stool to his right, leaving a gap for Hinata to sit between them. "Being mean to paying customers," She said, directing Hinata to the stool she'd saved for her.
"But he said that Teuchi-san's pork-"
"Shut it Naruto, I'm sure they didn't mean anything by it, did you?" She glanced hopefully over at the two customers huddled in the corner, both of whom shook their heads furiously at her. "See Naruto? Now go back to your ramen."
Naruto pouted before placing his chopsticks into position in his hand and beginning to eat again. Teuchi wandered over to where the new customers had sprung up. "Hi, welcome to Ichiraku Ramen and what can I get for you lovely young ladies today?"He asked, fishing a notepad out of his apron and poising his pen ready to scribble out their order.
"I'll have the seaweed salad, please." Ino supplied promptly, sitting down in a chair on the other side of Naruto to her friends. Teuchi noted it and then looked over at Sakura and Hinata.
"Can I have the Plum Miso Ramen, please?" Hinata asked shyly, ducking her head as the owner of the shop smiled brightly at her and wrote the order down.
"Sure you can… and what would you like Sakura-chan?" He asked.
"I'll have the Vegetable Yakisoba, please." She answered, her stomach grumbling loudly at the mention of food. "Sorry," She muttered when she felt her friends' gazes on her. "I'm just really hungry."
"Well if that's the case then I'll make sure to bring you your orders quickly." Teuchi said before tearing the paper off the notepad and pinning it on the wall. He was back after a few seconds asking if they wanted drinks and eventually brought over a pitcher of water along with a few glasses for them.
"Oh, Teuuuuchi-san!" Naruto called around a mouthful of barbeque pork.
"Yes Naruto?"
"Can I have the same again please?" The blond swallowed what remained in his mouth and flashed the other man a million-watt smile.
"Sure thing."
"Hehehe." Naruto laughed happily, closing his eyes and leaning back on his stool contentedly.
"Naruto, you had about half of that left when we walked in here. Honestly, you're as bad as Chōji!" Ino said with a scoff, rolling her eyes.
"And?" Naruto pouted, his brows tugging downward in a frown. "I'm nowhere near as bad as Chōji!" He protested.
"You better not be insultin-"
"Uh, guys?" Sakura called out. "Don't make me come over there and stop your little argument." She said as she caught Ino's attention and mimed a cut it out action to her. Ino rolled her eyes again and faced the counter once more. Sakura sighed before glancing at Hinata, and once the pale eyes had settled on her whispered, "Want to ask him now before he gets distracted by food again?"
Hinata visibly gulped before nodding slowly. "O-okay." She whispered back.
Sakura nodded. "Say, Naruto," She said, meeting Naruto's sunny grin with one of her own.
"Yes Sakura-chan?" He replied eagerly.
"Have you heard about the festival that's going on… was it tonight, Hinata?" She asked casually.
"Y-yes!" Hinata squeaked, her cheeks flushing with a pretty shade of red.
"Tonight." She concluded, her attention now back on Naruto.
"No… What festival?" He asked, his brilliantly blue eyes narrowing slightly.
"Lady Tsunade's celebrating another year as Hokage." Ino offered, her hand shooting out to grab the glass of water one of the Ichiraku Ramen employees was handing over to her.
"Grandma Tsunade's throwing a festival?" He asked, looking from one girl to the other. "Cool! Who's going?"
"Well…" Sakura trailed off, looking over at Ino. "Who is going Ino? You didn't tell me."
Ino shrugged. "Just the usual crowd." She answered, holding one of her hands up to count the people on her fingers. "There'll be me, Shikamaru and Chōji, Hinata, Kiba and maybe Shino… He said something about interesting specimens being around at this time of year. God knows if he'll turn up or not. Um, TenTen and Neji, and I'm not sure what Lee said. Then there's Sakura and you if you decide to go…" Ino's voice trailed off as her attention was grabbed by the waiter now handing her her food. "Thank you!" She chimed before grabbing chopsticks from a little pot and digging in.
"So what, me and Sakura would be like… on a date?" Naruto queried, a bright grin stretching along his mouth.
Sakura snorted into her drink. Naruto was her friend, and one of her best friends at that. Sadly, where he still held hope that one day they'd be together, she saw him as her brother. "No, sorry Naruto." She said, offering him an apologetic look. "I've already got someone to go with."
"What?" He exclaimed, his shoulders slumping. "No fair Sakura. Who're you going with anyways? And it better not be that damn Kiba!"
"No, it's not Kiba. And I'm not telling, it'll just have to be a surprise." She said knowingly, a small, affectionate smile playing about her lips. She broke out into a grin when she heard Ino's amused chuckle coming from the opposite side of Naruto. "Speaking of surprises, Ino, I've got something to ask you…" She said, getting up from her stool and squeezing Hinata's shoulder gently before wandering over to where Ino was sat.
"What is it?" Ino asked, eyeing Sakura as she motioned for Ino to move along the row of stools and slipped down into the one Ino had been occupying next to Naruto. The hyper-active-knuckle-head-ninja was currently sheepishly scratching the back of his head whilst asking Hinata if she was excited for the festival. Ino's eyes widened for a moment as she realised what her pink haired accomplice was up to. "Nice." She whispered, pinching another bit of seaweed between her chopsticks and popping it into her mouth.
"I thought so too." Sakura said with a grin. She turned her head slightly so that she could eavesdrop on what was going on between Hinata and Naruto better. Fortunately for her, the waiter brought over her good which made her task even easier.
"Are you okay Hinata?" Naruto asked, sending a concerned look in the dark haired girl's direction.
Hinata was fidgeting with the folds of her hoodie, and looking intently at the food which had just arrived in front of her. "I.. uh, I wanted to… what I mean is… no. What I wanted to ask is, uh, could you… no, would it be okay? No, I mean…"
"What is it Hinata?" Naruto asked gently, smiling warmly at the girl. He placed one of his hands over hers and Hinata's breath hitched audibly enough for Sakura to hear. She smiled to herself, Naruto could be really sweet when he wanted to be – though he could also be a gigantic pain, too.
"I uh, umm… I was wondering…" She trailed off again, chewing her bottom lip. She took a deep breath in and faced Naruto before attempting to ask the question she was so worried about. "?" She blurted, ducking her head as her cheeks flushed once more.
"Say that again?" Naruto asked cheerfully, leaning a little closer to Hinata. "Howa 'bout takin' it a little slower this time?"
Hinata took in another breath and dispelled it slowly. "Would you… like to, uh, accompany me to the festival tonight?" She asked, squeezing her eyes shut. There was a pause where Hinata didn't open her eyes and Naruto looked sheepishly over at Sakura.
"Oh, I errr. Actually Hinata I-" He started, shrugging his shoulders. Sakura kicked him in the shin under the table before he could reject poor Hinata's request and flashed a pointed look at him. "Ow, Sakura-chan!" He whined before turning back to Hinata. After watching the dark haired girl carefully for a few moments, a warm smile appeared on his face. He squeezed her hand and replied with a happy eye crinkle, "Sure, I'd love to go with you."
"R-really?" Hinata squeaked, her cheeks now glowing red.
"Really." Naruto confirmed. "Believe it." He added, employing his old catchphrase with a cheeky grin. Hinata smiled shyly back at him, relief among other emotions clear on her face.
"T-thank you, Naruto-kun." She murmured.
"No problem!" Naruto said, removing his hand from hers in favour of picking up some new chopsticks to start on his next meal. After all, there was only so long a bowl of ramen could sit in front of him and he would be able to resist it. "Now it's chow-time!" He placed his hands together before he snapped the chopsticks apart and dug into his meal. Sakura waggled her eyebrows at Ino and the blonde returned the gesture.
"See? I have my moments of matchmaking genius, Sakura." She whispered smugly. Sakura just rolled her eyes and snorted before going back to her own lunch.
The best thing about arriving home after a long mission was always the day of doing absolutely nothing after getting back. There was a mountain of paper work stacked on his bedroom desk which needed to be filled out, last night's shopping still hadn't made its way into his cupboards, and relaxing should have been off the menu. However, none of those things had seemed like a good enough reason for the Copy Nin to stay home. Instead, he'd found himself leaving the confines of his apartment with his beloved copy of Icha Icha Violence in hand, wandering aimlessly toward the riverbank to read.
Well, he had a reputation for being late to uphold, so he figured it didn't matter too much.
The only thing planned in his immediate foreseeable future was a trip to the festival that the Hokage was holding. And from the invitation he'd received, he might even go as far as to say he had secured a date with a certain pink haired team mate.
He wasn't one to be seen on the party scene, but for Sakura, he would make the effort. After he'd said yes, a part of him wondered what had made her ask him of all people to accompany her. He had started to believe – alike to many other villagers – that Sakura would one day end up with a certain aspiring Hokage. But she hadn't asked Naruto, she'd asked him.
Of course, he was very flattered. Sakura had matured into a beautiful young woman – one which he had found his eye strayed to more often than he thought it should. Both professionally and personally. He was very lucky to have had her ask him, but it also presented him with another question: did that mean she was interested in him?
He wasn't sure. A part of him expected she might have some ulterior motives, but then it was Sakura, and he knew her. She was upfront and honest most of the time and that suggested that there was a chance she liked him…
He meandered down an alley way to avoid bumping into anyone in the busy streets of Konoha, his nose still stuck in his book. He sighed to himself as he walked, his mind unable to fully concentrate on the words in front of him. He did that sometimes anyway; appear to be reading when he was actually deep in thought. The iconic Icha Icha cover did its job of keeping away anyone intending to disturb him. People seemed to know instinctively that it was a bad idea to come between a man and his porn.
His mind wandered back to Sakura, and he felt the material of his mask shift across his skin as his lips formed a smile. As much as he hated to admit it, he could really… appreciate his ex-pupil. He'd known Sakura for a long time now, and she was one of the few people he considered a friend, and more than that, one of the few people who knew exactly how to make him feel good about himself. That wasn't attraction, was it? Of course not.
Or so he told himself.
He finally made his way out of the maze of houses and toward the riverbank where he flopped down against a tree, stretching his legs out in front of him. He sighed contentedly and attempted to read Icha Icha Violence without any further distractions.
The rain was coming down hard around me as I attempted to catch up with her. I knew she was angry with me but there was no reason for her to leave me as she had. I ran, not knowing exactly where I was headed, nor caring. The only thing that mattered was getting her back, making her see that I was worth that chance she'd been talking about. I'd been running away for so long, and I finally felt that it was time that I stopped. It was time that I admitted how much she meant to me, and also how much I needed her. She eventually slowed down and came to a halt, panting heavily. I ran right to her side and pulled her close to me as I…
"Hey, Kakashi!"
He groaned, rolling his one visible eye and lowering his book slightly so that he could see the person the annoyingly familiar voice belonged to. He would usually attempt to use his trademark Read-Until-The-Enemy-Gets-Bored-And-Goes-Away tactic – a fancy way of describing the action of ignoring someone – but in this case it was about as futile as leaving ramen in front of Naruto and expecting him not to eat it. He waved a hand lazily and offered his standard greeting. "Yo."
Before him, floating on the river's surface with the aid of his chakra was Gai, grinning as brightly as ever. "And how's my number one rival doing today?" The man asked, jumping up off the water and landing neatly at Kakashi's feet. He sank down to the ground and fixed Kakashi with an intent look.
"I'm okay, I guess." He deadpanned with a shrug. If Gai was taking the time to hunt him down – he didn't believe it was mere coincidence which had brought the Green Beast of Konoha to him – it meant he'd either decided on a new challenge for him or he had some kind of news to bear. Kakashi was hoping it was the news option, at least that way he wouldn't have to put his book away.
"Really?" The other man raised one of his thick eyebrows sceptically before continuing. "Well, I'll cut right to the chase then. Have you heard about the festival Lady Tsunade is organising?"
"Yes." He replied simply, feeling a little satisfied with himself as he took the wind from Gai's sails.
"Well, I was going to say that she wanted the elite of Konoha to be there, but I suppose you already know that too, don't you Kakashi? That's why you're my rival, you always manage to keep up with me." He chuckled, shaking his head.
"No, actually I didn't." He replied, crinkling his eye almost happily at Gai.
"Really? How did you come to know about it then, you've been out of town for at least a month." Gai pouted, clearly a little put-out that his news had been spoiled by someone else.
"Sakura told me." He lowered the book completely and aimed his best 'what else?' look in Gai's direction.
"Sakura, eh?"
"Gai, is there a reason you decided to distract me from my book or..?"
"Of course, Kakashi, I was getting to that. As I was saying, Lady Tsunade wants everyone to be at this festival and that means you will have to put in an appearance. You can't skip out on it like you have been known to in the past, my friend." Gai chuckled again, patting Kakashi's shin.
"I was planning on attending this one, Gai." Kakashi said as he drew up his leg to lean his arm on it.
"You were? There has to be a reason, you don't do public events, at least not on time… got yourself a girl, huh?" Gai's larger than average eyebrows waggled at him, and Kakashi had to refrain from the urge to aim a half hearted kick in his rival's direction.
"As a matter of fact, Gai, I do." He replied with another happy eye crease. When he opened his eye again he was greeted with the sight of Gai's slightly shocked face.
"When did this happen?" He asked, watching Kakashi carefully. After a few moments he seemed to piece together the puzzle and his eyes widened as he asked, "Is it Sakura-chan?"
Kakashi felt something warm flooding into his cheeks. "You'll have to wait and see." He said quickly, looking at the page he was up to in Icha Icha Violence and memorising it as he put it back into the pouch on his belt. Gai groaned and then laughed.
"That's my rival," He announced, an air of fondness in his voice. "Always mysterious."
"Yes, that's me…" He replied, getting to his feet. The Green Beast of Konoha followed his lead and also scrambled up on his feet too. Kakashi twisted his body to the side and smiled to himself as a satisfying series of pops ran down his spine. "Well, if that was all, Gai, I'll see you later. I just remembered I had an appointment I was supposed to attend almost an hour ago." He started walking off, shaking his head and grinning at the voice calling out behind him.
"You really ought to do something about that time keeping problem of yours." He warned, another laugh entering his voice. Gai knew as well as Kakashi did that his perpetual lateness wasn't something that could be helped. He just liked to take things at his own pace, that was all. "See you later, Kakashi!" His rival called out after his retreating back. Kakashi just raised a hand in response, a lazy saluting wave as he picked his was back to the Hidden Leaf Village. Now all he had to do was get to that appointment… an appointment reading Icha Icha somewhere peaceful, that was.
"Ino, have you seen my mascara anywhere?" Sakura yelled, shuffling through the make-up items littering her dressing table. Ino had decided that she was going to sleep over at Sakura's apartment so that they could discuss in detail how the festival had gone for each of them. The fact that Ino was getting ready at Sakura's and not her own place meant that some of the little essentials which Sakura needed to get ready with had disappeared. Like her mascara, for instance.
"I'll give it you in a sec!" Ino yelled back from somewhere in the direction of the bathroom. Sakura sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. She still needed to figure out a way of styling it. Maybe she'd ask the Pig once she was finished hogging her make-up.
She perched on the end of her bed, resting her hand on an upturned palm. She hadn't been feeling nervous until she and Ino had started getting ready, and now her stomach was flittering uncertainly at the thought of going on a date with Kakashi. She stared warily at her reflection which was cast in the full length mirror attached to her wardrobe. She was wearing the yukata she'd purchased earlier on that day, and despite being really pleased with it, she still thought it was missing something. Ino dashed into her bedroom and dropped the mascara onto her lap with a pleased grin.
"Thanks Forehead, you're a lifesaver! I forgot to bring mine." She said, walking over to the mirror and smoothing down her new yukata.
"No problem," Sakura said absent-mindedly, checking the cap of the mascara was on tight and placing it on her bed. Ino caught her eye in the mirror.
"Sakura, you're only half ready now." She observed, raising a brow. Sakura chewed her lip.
"I know, I was hoping you'd be able to give me some advice about what to do with my hair." She said, standing up again and pulling a still slightly damp lock away from her head. "I don't know whether to have it down or up or…"
"Hmm, I'd wear it down." Ino said, turning around to face her. "Use one of your bows instead of your headband." She walked up to her and fluffed some of her hair up at the back. Sakura fidgeted before sliding past Ino to open up one of the drawers in her dressing table.
"I've got a pale pink one…" She started, shaking it free of the other ribbons it was tangled in and pulling it out for Ino to inspect. The blonde nodded her agreement and took it from Sakura's hands, spinning her friend around to face her.
"Hold still." She instructed, starting to create a parting for the ribbon to divide her hair. Sakura stood still and waited for Ino to decide that it looked okay. "Okay, now you can tie this." She said, walking Sakura over to the mirror and handing her the ribbon again. Sakura sighed.
"Okay, where am I leaving the bow?" She asked as she wrapped the ribbon around her head, trying it at the top to begin with.
"To the side." Ino replied as she started to tug it gently into the position she thought was best. Once the bow was in place, she started fluffing up Sakura's short hair again and smiled smugly. "There," She said as she turned Sakura back to face the mirror. "Whad'ya think?" She asked.
"If you think it's going to be okay like that…" Sakura replied, nodding and smiling her thanks back at Ino through the mirror.
"You're welcome." Ino said, moving away to dig through the little bag she'd brought along. "Say, Sakura, I don't suppose you have any of that cherry lip-gloss I got you for your birthday still, do you?"
"Lemme guess, you forgot yours or you ran out of it." Sakura laughed, walking over to her dressing table and plucking the lip-gloss in question and handing it over to Ino.
"Something like that…" The blonde muttered, heading over to the mirror to apply it properly. Sakura gathered what make-up she needed to use and joined her friend at the mirror. "So, excited for tonight then?" Ino asked in a sing-song voice, nudging Sakura with her hip.
"Yeah, sort of." She answered.
"Sort of? Don't tell me you're nervous?" Ino scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Sakura, you'll be fine, it's only Kakashi."
Only Kakashi, indeed. But Sakura had to admit that Ino had a point. Her and Kakashi were good friends. There was no reason that tonight would be awkward for either of them. They were just going out to a festival together, a friendly date. Then why was she so worried about looking amazing for him? Why was impressing him suddenly a big deal?
"Yeah, I know." She replied with a small smile playing about her mouth. "I'll be fine once we get going, I'm just dwelling on it."
"That's right. There's nothing to be worried about." Ino nodded, leaning back to check the clock on Sakura's wall. "Ah, shit. It's 6:55! I'm late!" She squealed, grabbing her bag up off Sakura's bed and heading toward the door. She popped her head back around the doorframe and caught Sakura's eye. "Forehead," She started.
"Yep?" Sakura asked.
"Don't worry okay? You look great and you're gonna have an amazing time tonight, alright?"
"Mmm." Sakura nodded, smiling at Ino. "Thanks Pig." She said, feeling some of her nerves dissipate. "…Shouldn't you be getting going now?" She asked, laughing as Ino's eyes widened and she shot from her room like a little blonde lightning bolt.
"Good point. See you later Sakura!" She called as the door to her apartment slammed shut. Sakura shook her head and giggled. She had about another thirty minutes at least before Kakashi showed up. The man was perpetually late, which for once boded well with her because she wasn't ready yet herself. She checked over her appearance once more before going to brush her teeth. She was just approaching the end of the recommended two minutes brushing time when a knock sounded at the door. It was probably Ino, she must have left something behind.
"Jus ah secth!" She yelled around a mouthful of toothpaste, spitting it out into the sink as she dashed out of the bathroom and to the door, foamy toothbrush still in hand. "What did you forget Ino?" She asked as she pulled the door back… only to reveal someone far too tall and far too manly to be her best friend.
"Whoops, have I caught you at a bad time?" Kakashi asked, a smirk apparent as he took in the toothpaste-moustache circling her mouth. Sakura groaned. So much for looking amazing...
"No, it's fine." She laughed nervously, opening the door fully and indicating that he should step inside. "I wasn't expecting you this early, I'm still getting ready." She said, feeling her cheeks flush. "Make yourself at home though," She said, pointing to the sofa. "I won't be long." He smiled at her and sat down on one of the sofas.
"Okay," He replied, stretching out his legs in front of him. "Take your time, I doubt anyone else will be expecting you to be early seeing as you'll be attending with me." He chuckled at the amused look on Sakura's face.
"You have a point there," She giggled before heading back to the bathroom to hastily get rid of any remaining toothpaste. Once satisfied that she looked presentable this time, she darted through to her bedroom, pulling open the wardrobe door and casting a hasty glance over the limited amount of shoes she owned. She found the sandals she'd been looking for and quickly strapped them onto her feet, glancing over her reflection for what she promised herself would be the final time. Make-up, check. Hair, check. Yukata, check. Shoes, check… the only thing missing was some jewellery. She pulled open the drawer that usually contained her hair ribbons and make-up and rooted around from some beaded bracelets she knew would be lurking in there somewhere. It took her a while, but she eventually found them. She grabbed her purse off her bed and placed it in one pocket of her yukata, and then fished her keys from her bag and placed them in the other pocket. Satisfied she was ready, she headed back to Kakashi.
"There, I'm ready." She said happily, looking over at the couch which her date should have been sat on. She felt her brow furrow when she realised he wasn't there, and looked around the apartment. He was in the corner where her bookcase was located, nosing through the different book spines and films she had displayed there. He usually ended up checking out her bookshelf if he put in an appearance at her apartment. A grin tugged at her lips as she walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "I'm ready." She chimed, her grin only growing larger as he turned to face her.
"Well, don't you look lovely?" He drawled, his eye travelling down the length of her body and back up again, an action which caused her cheeks to warm considerably.
"Why thank you." She replied, modestly batting away the compliment. "You look pretty good yourself." She returned, shyly smiling up at him. It was true, he did look good in the really dark red yukata he was wearing. His eye creased happily.
"Glad you think so, I had to dig this out of the back of my wardrobe. In case you couldn't tell, it doesn't get much use." He replied, rubbing his mask covered cheek sheepishly. Sakura continued to beam up at him.
"So, shall we get going?" She asked, taking a few steps back from him and turning in the direction of the front door.
"If you're ready." He replied, following her to the door. She opened it enough to allow him to walk outside and then pulled her keys from her pocket. She locked up and fell into step with him as they started walking down the stairs leading to the apartment lobby. "Excited for tonight then?" He asked curiously, watching her out of the corner of his eye.
"Yeah." Sakura replied enthusiastically. She looked up at him and smiled. "From what Ino told me, it sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun."
"I hope so. Gai informed me this morning that I couldn't duck out on this one under any circumstances."
"Really?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen you at any of the festivals I've been to in the past." She added, a gentle laugh ending her sentence. "You're not that big on the whole celebrating thing are you?"
"Not usually." He replied, looking at her as he said, "I'm willing to make some exceptions, however."
Sakura's cheeks reddened again as she caught on to what he was hinting at. "Like turning up on time for me too?" She asked, her bottom lip catching between her teeth.
"Contrary to popular belief Sakura, I can arrive on time when I want to." He chuckled, shaking his head at her. "Some things are worth showing up for."
She blushed again, flashing a smile up at him. "I'll take that as a compliment then." She said with a giggle.
"You should, I don't hand them out often." He replied, reaching out a hand and attempting to ruffle her hair. She swatted away his hand in protest.
"Don't do that, you'll mess my hair up!" She whined, the effect of her protest ruined by the bright smile which was still stuck to her face.
"Mess it up? I thought it always looked like that." He teased, sidestepping away from her to avoid her pointy elbow aimed at his ribs. "I'm joking, I didn't mean it." He said fondly, stepping up to her side again. She eyed him warily for a second before falling into step with him. They were walking along in a comfortable silence for a few feet before Kakashi decided to speak again. "Didn't you say this was a date?" He asked, a smirk on his face as Sakura looked up at him with a nervous expression.
"Uh… only if you wanted it to be…" She said, glancing at the floor to hide another blush. She was shocked to feel something warm brush against her hand and then give it a squeeze. She looked back up at Kakashi in confusion.
"Well, if it is a date then we should be holding hands." He said, shrugging as though it was the most obvious thing ever. She smiled affectionately up at him.
"Okay." She said, shifting her hand slightly so that their fingers intertwined. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and he responded by returning the gesture.
"Where were we meeting the others then?" He asked, running his thumb slowly along hers.
"Ichiraku Ramen." She replied as he led her round a corner.
"Come on then," He said brightly. "Can't keep them waiting."
Sakura giggled. This coming from the man who was best known for operating on his own special Hatake-time.