The setting sun casts a golden glow over her solemn face, her eyes moistened as she whispers her old friend's name, Sasuke looking at her intently. Hana didn't mean to look his way again, but something about his eyes stirred inside her.

Sensing the solemn atmosphere, Sasuke decided to let it go. "Where would you want me to put the sliced eggplant?" He asked to lighten the mood.

"Please mix it with the miso." Haruka smiled gracefully as she started slicing the meat in her hand. The two worked silently side by side, Sasuke asking her occasionally, amazed by the variety of dishes she had prepared.

"That's quite a lot for six people." Sasuke mused as he started to carry the food towards the dining area.

"It has been a while since I received a lot of guests in my house." She snickered as she followed Sasuke out of the kitchen.

"Everyone, dinner is ready!" The sudden noise brought back the attention of the group that was looking around at the interesting pictures plastered around the house. Naruto was the first to rush towards the dining room, glaring at Sasuke as the other boy settled beside Haruka.

"Hey! I'm supposed to sit there!" Hana ruffled Naruto's head as she directed him to sit opposite Sasuke. It was a chilly evening, with the soft glow of light by the rising moon casting warm shadows on their faces. Her house once again hummed with laughter and the soft clinking of glasses as they gathered around the dining table, Hana watched in delight as they praised the food they cooked.

"This tastes amazing, Hana-san." Iruka praised as he dug in on his food. Hana nodded pleasantly, "This is all thanks to Sasuke's assistance." Sasuke smiled smugly at Naruto, making the other boy flinch.
Naruto slurped up the last of his miso ramen, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and leaned forward dramatically, eyes gleaming with excitement as he looked toward his friend, Hana.

"Okay, okay, listen up! This is a true story—the legendary tale of the Ramen Bandit!"

Hana and the others leaned in. Even Iruka-sensei sighed, already sensing chaos.

"So, one day, I was starving—you know, the kind of hunger that makes your stomach sound like Akamaru growling. But guess what? I was broke! Not even a single ryo!" Naruto spread his hands wide, emphasizing the tragedy.

"So there I was, staring longingly at Ichiraku's, smelling that perfect bowl of ramen being served to some lucky guy. And then—boom! An idea hit me! What if I was a hero... and I saved someone's ramen from being stolen?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "You mean, you stole someone's ramen?"

Naruto gasped. "Of course not! That would be wrong!" He coughed. "So anyway, I saw this old man with a huge bowl of ramen, and out of nowhere—this mysterious gust of wind blew his chopsticks away! Crazy, right?"

"Naruto…" Iruka sighed, already knowing where this was going.

"You ate it, didn't you?" Sakura deadpanned. Hana giggled.

Drowning out Naruto's story at the back of her head, Hana reached out to get the last dumpling on her plate when another hand reached out to get the same food touched hers.
"Go ahead," Hatake Kakashi offered, gesturing to the last dumpling on the plate.

Hana tilted her head. "Oh, no way. You should have it. You're my guest."

"This is good." Kakashi mused covering his face as he shoved the dumpling into his mouth.

"Thank you. I got the recipe when I stayed at Komugakure." Hana smiled delightfully towards Kakashi.

Kakashi stared at her intently. He thought Hana was beautiful. The moment he first saw her earlier, he had thought she was graceful. There was something about the soft way she spoke. Now he saw something new. Giving her a simple compliment about her cooking, her face lit up in a way he had never seen before.

Dimples.

He was stunned, unable to look away.

"What?" Hana asked, still smiling, tilting her head slightly.

Kakashi blinked, realizing he had been staring. A slow grin spread across his face.

"Nothing," he said, shaking his head. "I just realized that I haven't seen you around Konoha before."

"Destiny, my foot! You swiped an old man's meal!" They heard Sasuke bark irritably towards Naruto.

Naruto waved his arms frantically. "I left him a note!" They heard Naruto screech.

Lena laughed, leaning back. "What can I say? I don't frequently visit Konoha that much."

"So… you two just met, huh?" Iruka asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hana smirked towards the other ninja. "I guess? I haven't seen Naruto that much during my visits, he's always out to do missions with his team."

As the night wound down, the group decided to move towards her living room and debate about what movie they'd like to watch and for the rest of the night, Kakashi and Hana found themselves caught in their own world—exchanging stories,