Closer

If she knew that accepting this blind date would be the bane of her existence, she wouldn't have bothered to crawl out of her apartment. Especially since her student was serving them. While he tried to keep his composure, his occasional glances at her wasn't exactly discrete. He looked as if he wanted to ask why she came to this restaurant, out of the hundreds of other 5-star restaurants, dressed in that no less.

So much for retaining her teacher figure for her students.

"So, what is it that you studied in college?" Hanabusa asked, chewing away at his steak.

"Medicine," she answered back, taking a sip of her wine. At this rate, she'll need a whole gallon to get her through this night. "I'm going into specialisation next year."

"Oh." He looked impressed and somewhat surprised. "I didn't figure that you'd be a sciencey type."

"Why not?"

He looked at her, up and down, and smirked. "Nothing. It's not that I think you're stupid, despite what people say about blondes, but I don't know…. You don't look like someone who'd be willing to be studying night and day. I see you as someone who likes going out, meeting people, partying…"

"Ah…" This time she wasn't so discrete, she chugged an entire glass of wine down. With each sentence, this guy was becoming more and more irritating. "Well, I tend to surprise people."

"You do," he chuckled, again his eyes darted from her face. "Is there anything you'd like to ask me?"

Yeah… can you be more obvious when you stare at my breasts? She wanted to snap, but knew that the idea was a terrible one. Especially since she could see Kakashi, at the corner of her eye, keeping his watch on them. He was doing a terrible job, too, bumping into other waiters because he wasn't paying attention.

She gave a small smile. "What is it that you do for fun?"

He smirked at her question. It may not have been a good idea to ask him that, actually. He might have gotten the wrong idea. "For one, I love meeting beautiful people such as yourself." Again, he reached out, but this time not for her hand. Since he was sat beside her, as opposed to being adjacent, his hand was able to glide on her leg. "For two, I love showing women a good time." He whispered in her ear. "If you're goo—"

"D-Do yo-you need me to clear your plates?" Kakashi stuttered, trying not to look at Tsunade.

She sighed, but was thankful that he interrupted them. He must have seen how uncomfortable she was, because he certainly didn't need to ask if they wanted their table clearing. Their table was still filled with food, after all.

Hanabusa looked up at Kakashi, trying his hardest to remain cordial. "No, young man, it's all good."

"S-Sure…." For the first time, he made eye contact with Tsunade to send a subliminal message: Are you okay?

She gave a silent nod. And he hesitantly carried on to the next table.

Tsunade cleared her throat and leaned away from Hanabusa, purposely crossing her legs so he wouldn't dare try to slip his hand in her inner thigh. He backed away to his own seat and continued to slice his steak.

Tsunade uncomfortably played with her hair as she tried to eat her dinner. Honestly, she has lost her appetite. With her date being a degrading asshole and her student witnessing this catastrophe, she was no longer in the mood to eat. All she wanted was her bed. And no, Hanabusa wasn't going in bed with her. This guy has ruined his chances the moment he started listing these expensive cuisines in her face, practically flaunting his wealth – nay, his family's wealth.

"Aren't you hungry?" He finally asked, gesturing his knife at her pasta. "You've barely touched your plate."

"Oh… um… I a-ate before coming here. It was a stupid move, I know."

"Did you think that I was going to bring you into a cheap restaurant?" he grinned. "Women often think that with blind dates. But I like spoiling women, because I think that it's a man's duty to take care of women. On our next date, you should remember not to eat beforehand."

He's already thinking of a next date? She groaned. Was she unconsciously sending him signals of hope that she was interested? With her lack of dialogue, she'd think that he'd understand that this date wasn't going well. Or was he so self-absorbed with the amount of money he has flaunted, to care? Did he think that she was in his debt?

"I'll keep that in mind…." She said, twirling her loosely curled locks around her index finger.

"Would you like to get out of here early? You know, have our desserts now and go back to my place." His eyes twinkled at the end of his sentence. His hand was planted on her body again and he smirked deviously, already mentally undressing her. "We can pop another bottle of wine and…. get to know each other. If things go well, you can stay the night and we can have fun."

She laughed. "You're upfront, aren't you?"

"I thought women like that?" He grinned, leaning closer to her. "I thought you'd like it if I took charge."

"We barely know each other."

"Give me a chance and we'll know each other well enough by the end of the night." He took her chin and turned her to him. "With everything I've done, you can't just write me off so easily." His gaze lowered to her lips and he leaned in.

Tsunade tilted her head in time so he would kiss her cheek instead. "I need to freshen up." She said quickly, grabbing her handbag and dashing as fast as she could to the toilets. She didn't even bother to wait for his validation.

Kakashi was waiting another table when he witnessed Tsunade hastily head up to the toilets. He looked back at her date and the disappointment was apparent in Hanabusa's face. He obviously expected to get some action tonight, Kakashi internally laughed.

"And what drinks would you like?" he smiled, turning back to the table of five. He absent-mindedly wrote down their others, nodding along to pretend that he was invested in them. "I'll be back with your drinks. Your main course may take thirty minutes to make. Will that be alright with you?"

"Yes, that will be fine."

"Great!" He collected their menus and hurried to the bar.

By the time he had served his designated tables, he noticed that Tsunade hasn't returned to her date yet. Mildly concerned, he headed up the stairs and knocked on the women's toilets. "Um… S-Senju-sama?" he called.

"I can't believe that you set me up with a person like him!" He heard on the other side of the door. She was talking to her friend…. Or maybe ex-friend by the way things were going. "What did you say to him?" He heard her gasp in disbelief. "I'm not looking for flings, you moron! Oh, god, Jiraiya… I am going to kill you! No! No one is getting fucking lucky, you perverted piece of shit!"

Kakashi leaned against the wall. Well, at least she was alright. He decided that it was best to flee before she got out of the toilet. He was the last thing she needed. As he came down the stairs, he kept on looking back over his shoulder for her. In hindsight, he would realise that he shouldn't have done that. Because he would have avoided this from happening:

"Kakashi!" His manager practically screamed.

He turned back and hit a platter of food, tripping back from the impact. If that wasn't bad enough, the entire main course splattered onto his face, with the plates following straight after.

"Oh, god!" The waitress, Anko, shrieked. "Kakashi, are you okay?"

The silver-haired man was splattered with stains from the pasta's sauce and the sizzling curry. Thankfully, the curry fell onto his shirt and not on his face. Had it made contact with his flesh, he would have suffered burns.

His manager rushed by his side with towels in her disposal. "Jesus, Kakashi, I told you to watch out."

"It would have been better if you warned me a second before." He groaned, divesting himself from his waistcoat and dress-shirt, practically stripping in front of their guests. While women enjoyed the eye-candy of his lithe body, men didn't practically like the idea of their lovers looking at a younger man's way. Not that Kakashi was aware of it, since he busied himself in cleaning the mess from himself and off the floor.

As he cleared the broken porcelain plates off from the floor, he looked up and saw Tsuande stop at the top of the stairs. It was at the moment that he felt naked, quickly burning up as she awkwardly proceeded to go down the stairs.

"A-Are you alright?" She unexpectedly knelt at his side and picked the pieces with him.

"J-Just had an accident, that's all." He tried to act suave. "Please, you can go to your date. I can do this."

She scoffed. "Do you really think that I want to go back to him? Mr. Touch-Feely is more interested about his lock of hair than me. He's just pretending to be invested, but he's not even talented to be convincing about that."

"Oh. I didn't notice that your date was going south."

She narrowed her eyes. "Shut up. Don't think I didn't see you living off my discomfort."

He quietly laughed. "I'm sorry, Senju-sama."

"Tsuande."

"Huh?"

"Don't call me 'Senju-sama' outside school. Just let me try to forget that you're in my class, who will probably be gloating about this incident tomorrow."

"I-I can't call you that…. That breaks the barrier between teacher and student." He said uncomfortably. "I'm good."

"Suit yourself. Just don't call me Senju-sama, tonight."

"R-Right."

She placed all the broken pieces on the wooden tray before she stood back up. "Will you be alright?" she asked, tugging her dress to smooth it out. "Because if you are, I'll be going back to the Hellish Date."

"I-I'm good, thanks."

"Oi, Kakashi, here's a spare shirt." His male co-worker threw a large shirt over him. "Get changed in the back. I've got this."

"A-Are you sure?"

"Dude, just go. We can't have boss seeing this on his spy cams."

"G-Good point."

The rest of the night continued amicably as it could possibly get. Kakashi was dressed in a shirt that was a size bigger than him, and he smelt of curry. That didn't measure to how bad Tsunade's date was going, however. Maybe she became tired of his ramblings or she couldn't stand seeing his face anymore, because some time during their dinner she let him kiss her. That man was more than eager to kiss her, but was let down when she refused to let it escalate.

They ordered their desert – chocolate torte for Tsunade, and raspberry cheesecake for Hanabusa. As per usual, Tsunade made sure to consume a lot of wine, smiling and trying to engage with her date's ramblings.

When Tsunade received a call, she went on outside and accepted it. Kakashi cleared the other tables and wiped down the glass tables, all the while knowing that her date was scrutinising him. But after a while, Kakashi noticed at he wasn't being watched because his value as a waiter was being measured, but because Hanabusa was making sure he wasn't paying attention.

But he was paying attention. And he saw him slip a concoction in Tsunade's wine. At that moment, they were staring directly at each other. What the hell did he do? Kakashi felt a cold shiver down his spine. Did he spike her drink?

"Young man, come here" he ordered.

Kakashi hesitantly came towards him. "A-Are you o-o-ordering anything else?"

"I know you saw."

"H-Huh?" He played dumb. "Saw what?"

"Here." Hanabusa pulled out a handful of notes from his wallet. "J-Just for your silence, alright? Come on, help a man out. You see her, don't you? I know you do, because you've been staring all night. Who wouldn't want a piece of that? So, I'm telling you to look the other way." He pushed the notes up to his face. "What do you say?"

"Um…."

"Are you paying already?" Tsunade asked, approaching them. "I said that I'll be paying half."

"No, no. Don't bother, Tsunade." Hanabusa replied. "I was just giving this man his tip. I enjoyed his company tonight, so I thought to reward him." He gazed up at him. "Take it."

Kakashi took the money from his hands and nodded. "Thank you, sir."

His lips arched into a darkened grin. "Thank you."

Kakashi watched as Tsunade drank her tampered wine, and his stomach dipped in disgust. Nevertheless, he bowed and took his leave from the table.

A few minutes later….

"It's getting quite hot in here…" Tsunade announced, looking at her surroundings that were becoming pale and blurry. She blinked a couple of times, but her vision remained impaired. She looked at her date who was staring at her intently. "Don't you feel hot?"

"With you by my side, of course I do." He cheekily said, taking a sip from his drink. "Why won't you drink more wine?"

"N-No… I've had enough for the night." She replied, feeling her herself as she tried to process what was happening. Her breathing felt shallow and her eyes were feeling too heavy. She was not a light-weight by any means, so it wasn't the alcohol that was making her act this way. What could it be?

"Let's call it a night." Hanabusa eagerly proposed, calling for Kakashi. "And don't you worry, I'll pay for your half. You can pay me back in another way."

Tsunade shifted on her seat. "I-I just need to go to the bathroom for a sec."

"You've been going there quite a bit. A-Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah… I'm sorry… I'll be quick."

"Sure thing, babe."

Tsunade closed the door behind her and began to panic. Her body was beginning to betray her and everything was beginning to spin. She gripped at the marble sink to regain her composure. And that's when it hit. Did he tamper with her drink? No. He wouldn't. Not with a lot of people around, especially not with Kakashi doting on them.

"Take it." She remembered him giving Kakashi an early tip in the night. Did he bribe Kakashi into silence?

She wanted to puke. If she was right about this, her student just sold her out to her potential rapist. "Oh god…" she sank down on the floor. There was nothing she could do. In her disorientated state, she forgot to get her cellphone. Now, she was left helpless in the toilet. He could come here and force her into whatever he wanted right now. Especially since she was losing feeling of her limbs.

She wanted to cry, to scream, to do anything that would vent her frustration, but even her mouth betrayed her.

Quick and heavy footsteps alerted her, and she gasped when the toilet door was torn open. She expected it to be Hanabusa, but upon gazing up, she saw Kakashi practically panting in front of her. "S-Senju-sama!" He shrieked, locking the toilet door behind him before approaching her. "Oh god. I've got you, don't worry."

"W-What are you doing here?" she whispered. "This is the women's toilets." She may have said that, but she was glad that he was there with her.

He chose to ignore her as he pressed his hand on her forehead. She was burning up. "He's waiting for you downstairs."

She grabbed onto his shirt and shook her head frantically. "No." She whimpered. "I can't go back to him."

"I'm not letting you go with him, Senju-sama," he clarified. "I'm going to bring you to our staff room. I-I saw him slip something in your drink. I'm-I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I-I didn't know what to do. But there's no way I'm letting him take you out of this restaurant."

Tsunade allowed for him to pull her back on her feet, but since her motor skills were messed up, she ended up leaning up against him in complete desperation. She was softly panting at this point, and her cheeks were burning up in a bright pink hue. She clawed her nails into his shirt to stabilise herself, and she buried her face into his neck to prevent him from seeing her face.

Kakashi didn't know what was worse, the fact that he'll be dragging a woman from the women's toilets, or that his teacher was practically glued onto his body. He shook his head, knowing that this wasn't the time to think about those things. It wasn't like she planned for this to happen.

He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. "We'll need to go downstairs. Do you think you can manage that?"

"He-He'll see me!"

"I-I know, but don't worry…." His rubbed her back in comfort.

"This is pathetic. I'm sorry."

He took her hand and gently led her out of the toilet. "Come on."

By the time they reached the landing of the stairs, Hanabusa was waiting for her near the entrance. He looked enlightened when he saw them, immediately walking their way. "Oh, you don't look so well. I-I'll take you home." He reached for her arm, but Kakashi was quick to swat it away. "H-Hey. What are you doing? I'm said that I'm taking my girlfriend home."

Girlfriend? Tsunade shrieked. Since when?

"She's not going home with you…."

"Obviously not. I'm taking her back to her place, because she's not doing so well." He tried to reach out again, but Kakashi intercepted his hand and grappled him by his wrist.

"I said she's not coming home with you."

Hanabusa was evidently angry by this. Not only has he spent a lot of money to bed the blonde, but now he's being cockblocked by the waiter he thought he bribed. Kakashi did throw the money back at his face a while ago, but he didn't think that he would have the guts to go up against him.

"W-What's going on here?" The manager asked, hands on her hips.

"He's just leaving," Kakashi said casually, eyes hardened on the man.

Hanabusa scoffed, but later realised that all of the customers were looking at him. The odds were certainly not in his favour. With a disgruntled scoff, he turned around and headed to the entrance. "Fucking bitch," he grumbled under his breath.

"Is this lady alright?" The manager asked, analysing how pale Tsunade had become.

"I'll bring her to the staff room."

"Y-Yeah. I'll drive her home after this shift."

Knowing that Tsunade's motor skills was impaired, Kakashi scooped her up and hooked her legs over his arm, much to her dismay. He carried her to the staff room, and laid her down on the couch. "Here," he offered her a bottle of chilled water.

Tsunade sat up and accepted the bottle. "T-Thanks…" she whispered.

He sat beside her and cloaked her body with his coat. "My manager has offered to drive you home. I hope you don't mind resting here for another hour."

"I'm just grateful I didn't go with him. Who knows what would have happened." Her hazel eyes focused on him. "What you did, and how you stood your ground, saved me tonight. Thank you, Kakashi."

He allowed her to rest her head on his shoulder and he smiled. He too was thankful that he pieced the fragments together. "Don't worry about it, Senju-sama."

He felt her smile which, in turn, made him smile in relief.

The next day….

Kakashi was late for homeroom, but surprisingly for the other students, so was Tsunade. In fact, they walked into class together. Both Rin and Obito looked at each other in complete confusion. Kakashi whispered something in Tsunade's ear before he walked to his desk. And Tsunade proceeded to walk to her own desk.

"Good morning, class," she greeted, tired and without the same gusto she normally packed on other days.

After homeroom, every student stood up and prepared themselves to go into their first lesson. "Kakashi, can I talk to you for a while?" she asked, not gazing up from the paperwork she was filling out. Okay, now Obito and Rin were curious. The fact that she didn't call him Kakashi-san, too, was suspicious.

"Of course." Kakashi didn't look surprised that she asked for him to stay behind.

Tsunade finally gazed up and saw that his friends had not left. "Obito-san and Rin-san, you can leave."

"Y-Yes, ma'am."

When it was just the two of them, Tsunade sighed and sat on the edge of her desk. "I just wanted to thank you again for last night."

Kakashi sauntered towards her until he was a foot away. "How are you?" The last time he saw her, she was kneeling over a bin, throwing up.

"Good. Your manager surprisingly knew a lot about roofies, and she made me a homemade remedy to combat its side effects." Her hand glided down his bicep as she smiled wholeheartedly. "I'm in your debt, Kakashi."

He was instantly captured by her radiant smile and he bashfully looked away. "I-I would have done it for anyone."

"I know you would have. I just happened to be the one you saved."

He suddenly reached in his pocket. "O-Oh. Before I forget, I found this." He offered her back her earring. "It must have fallen when you fell asleep on the couch."

"I forgot I was even wearing earrings last night since it was such a blur. Thank you… again."

Kakashi nodded. "It's no problem, really."

"We didn't have the best night, did we?" She smirked.

"I smelt like curry last night. The amount of questionable stares I got was more than I could handle."

"I can't believe I went on a date with a man like him."

"Yeah, me too."

They laughed together, mainly to ease the pain of last night's memory.

For a while they became silent, but then Tsunade cleared her throat. He looked at her, confused. "M-My hand, Kakashi. I'd like it back." He shrieked back and stumbled backwards upon realising that he had been holding onto her hand since she tried to take her earring back.

"T-That wasn't.. I didn't…."

"Don't worry about it."

"Good morning, Senju-sama!" The door was pried open and a couple of young boys in the lower year came in, ready for their lesson.

"Good morning," she waved.

"I-I'll be on my way." Kakashi bowed and quickly ran out of class. He was so frantic that he didn't even notice that Rin had waited for him outside of the classroom, and had seen everything that transpired.

"Kakashi…"

A/N: Merry Christmas! (It's early, I know, but still...). This is my last daily update. So I hope you enjoyed it. Also, just know that this Hanabusa problem is not yet over. There's more. :P