"Izumi! Where did you run off to? Hey, Sarame did you see Izumi come this way?"
"Oh Haku, what's up? Where's Izumi?"
"I think she might've walked this way. I went to grab us some drinks but came back and she was gone."
"Thank you, Haku!" Sarame grabs one of the drinks from Haku's hand.
"H-hey take it slow, will you? You look like you've already drunk enough tonight." Haku quickly grabs the already half-full glass from the tipsy girl.
"We're not even 20 yet, so keep the drinking to a minimum, will you? You don't want any adults seeing a 17-year-old getting this tipsy."
"Haku...shut up...hahahaha..." Sarame was beginning to feel the headaches coming.
"Alright, let's find Izumi so she can take you home."
"B-but...I h-havuent... evuen dwank yet..."
Haku and two other friends who were chatting with Sarame began to help her up and took her to the closest seat nearby.
--
Izumi stopped to take a deep breath. "Thank goodness I was able to get away. How do people have the energy to talk nonstop?" She chuckled.
"Hmm... now where's the bathroom?" The more she walked the more it felt like a maze of never-ending hallways.
Izumi continued to walk the halls and as she approached an intersection, she suddenly bumped into a sturdy figure.
"Ah...s-sorry! I wasn't paying attention to where I was heading. I didn't mean to — Itachi?"
Izumi looks up to see Itachi in front of her.
"Izumi. What brings you here?"
"A-actually I was trying to get away from Haku...but ended up here and...I decided to look for the bathroom so I could fix myself. Do you happen to know which direction it would be?"
"Fix yourself?"
"Ah...um. Nevermind. Forget what I said! Hahaha!"
Itachi steps closer to Izumi eventually pinning her to the wall.
"Say, do you feel proud wearing such baring clothes?"
"W-what do you mean?" Izumi's heart began to pound fast. She can feel Itachi staring at her from top to bottom with tense eyes.
"This world may be full of shinobis whose duty is to protect their own nation."
"They may be seen as strong, wise, and composed. But don't forget that although the composure is seen on the outside, there's a hidden animal inside waiting to divulge."
Izumi couldn't grasp what Itachi meant.
"I don't understand."
Itachi leaned in closer until he was about an inch away from Izumi's face.
Izumi began to turn into a tomato when suddenly Itachi poked her forehead with his finger.
"Ow! What was that for?"
Itachi slightly chuckles then leans back giving Izumi some space to breathe.
"Here take this."
Itachi takes off his jacket and wraps it around Izumi.
"It'll be dark and cold outside. And it doesn't seem like you brought a jacket with you. So keep this for tonight."
"T-thank you Itachi." It was hard for Izumi to stop blushing so she continued to look to her left to avoid eye contact.
"If you're still looking for the bathroom, it's the next hallway to the right. See ya." Itachi headed back to the main building to find Shisui.
"W-what was that?" Izumi thought to herself as she was trying to catch her breath.
"That scared me a little..." She put her hand to her heart.
"Damn it. Stop beating so fast will you."
--
"Sarame!"
"I-Izumi?"
"Let me take her. I got it from here. Thank you for taking care of her, Haku."
"Y-yeah no problem."
"Izumi, w-where *hiccups* wuuur you this *hiccups* huul time?"
"I had a bit of a stomach ache so I needed to step out a bit." Izumi couldn't think of a better excuse.
Sarame suddenly shot up. "Are you okay?! Did anyone or anything hurt you?!"
"Are you okay, Izumi?" Haku was also concerned.
"Oh, yes I'm fine! Nothing too serious, haha! Let me take you home, Sarame. You look like you've had enough for tonight."
It was getting late and a majority of the crowd had already left home for the night.
--
Izumi walks her best friend home.
"Whose jacket is that by the way?"
"Oh, this? It's from Itachi. He lent me his jacket since it was starting to get cold."
"You know, guys won't just let you borrow their clothes out of the kindness of their hearts. Unless they like you!"
"Shhh! Sarame, it's late. Stop being so loud. People are already asleep." Izumi responded in a slightly sharp and almost whisper tone.
"You may be best friends but I'm starting to get this feeling that there's something more going on between you two."
"Come on stop. There's nothing going on."
"I-z-u-m-i. Stop hiding it."
"Sarame, we're here! Hurry up and get inside. Have a good night!" Izumi pushes her best friend inside and rushes away and into the dark.
"Ow! T-that girl!"