Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Respect & Understanding ❯ Down boy! Down! ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I'm just obsessed.

 

Chapter 7: Down boy! Down!

 

A familiar shock of silver hair sat amongst his conversating fellows. Nights like these when the four walls of his apartment had become too much for him, Kakashi found he could always find solace in this local bar where like minded ninja tend to flock. A drink would always ease his mind and his company was always welcome among this group of peers.

 

Asuma feigned interest in Gai's extravagant tale of his previous mission, how that man could make delivering a scroll sound exciting Kakashi had no idea. Anko rolled her eyes at the thick browed man's every word while munching on her dango sticks.

 

Genma was busy chatting up an unfortunate female he happened to snag. The poor woman had been innocently passing by. Raidou sat sipping his drink while inconspicuously peering out of the corner of his eye toward his toothpick wielding friend. Suddenly Kakashi had a disturbing thought…

 

`I hope he's not taking notes, surely there are better examples around…'

 

Kakashi did a sweep of the table with his one visible eye and reconsidered. It was probably safe to say that other than the bearded man and the kunoichi with the red eyes the rest were used to being alone, him self included.

 

It wasn't to say that they didn't believe in things such as love, at least he knew that he did, it was just easier this way what with the job description and all. Excessive threat of death while on duty was not something most partners wanted in a love match. This suited them and him just fine, except on nights like these of course.

 

You had those who would reach out and grab whoever they could get their hands on, this being the “Genma” type and then you had the rest who would drown their loneliness amongst their friends and a warm bottle of sa'ke.

 

Types like Asuma and Kurenia were rare indeed. It had been years now and still these two were always seen together whenever they were both in the village. It was sad but true that most shinobi who chose `friends with benefits' fizzled out after a short time, but not these two.

 

Kakashi secretly guessed that the old `friends with benefits' had developed into something much deeper. It was evident in their shared looks and small touches; they weren't kidding anyone but themselves.

 

Kakashi also guessed that if Kurenai hadn't been a kunoichi Asuma might had popped the question way before hand, but seeing how she was and a very talented one at that he could understand the mans unwillingness. Kurenai definitely was not the stay at home type, she valued her service to the village more than her own life, much the same as him self. There would be no little bearded ruby eyed ruggrats in the future.

 

Just because the Copy Ninja had no time for love didn't mean the loneliness never got the best of him. On those nights when the Icha-Icha world would not suffice, he would go the “Genma” route, but unlike the sandy haired heartbreaker Kakashi would not mislead his company. He would tell them what he wanted and what they should expect of him in the future.

 

Seeing the two women across from him and even the blushing pretty young thing on Genma's lap had Kakashi yearning to be with someone from the opposite sex. He may be an elite ninja of the hidden leaf, but he was a man first and foremost.

 

He took a slow sip of his drink as his eye cast around the crowded room. Most of the faces here tonight were unfamiliar and that was a good thing in his book. As his eye spanned to the left, his eye line caught on a pair of devastatingly sexy feminine legs turned his way. His eye caught on the blood red nail polish on the toes that were wrapped in black leather sandals.

 

His drink lay forgotten in his hand, which had paused between his lips and the wooden surface of the table. His dark orb drank in the toned calf to the slightly muscled bit of thigh that lay exposed beneath a short curtain of silky black material. The side pan of her legs was visible to his eye and so was her back. The woman was turned toward the bar at the waist.

 

Kakashi took this opportunity to study his subjects shape unnoticed. He could see clearly the swell of her hip and the dip in her waist.

 

`I think I found my companion for the night…if she'll have me of course.'

 

Kakashi silently calculated his maneuvers before resting his eye on his targets swept up hair…

 

…her vividly bright pink swept up hair.

 

“Oh shit…”

 

The words spilled from his mouth in less than a whisper but the ever keen ears of one Matio Gai picked up on his slip. Gai turned to his eternal rival with interest. It was very rare to hear such words come from his silver haired friend, especially when they were not in a competition at the moment.

 

“Kakashi, what has you riled up my friend?”

 

Kakashi quickly snapped out of his stupefied daze, but not before half the table had followed his line of eyesight. Asuma hurriedly put two and two together and patted his long time friend on the shoulder, part in comfort and part in amusement. His voice held only the slightest hint of laughter when he spoke.

 

“Oh don't feel so bad Kakashi, it's not like she's a little girl anymore…course I don't think I have to tell you that considering the way you were just staring at her.”

 

Kurenai elbowed her companion in the side all the while displaying a grin that matched his own. Gai's eyebrows rose once he finally caught on to what had happened. His teeth glittered as he smiled and he clapped Kakashi's back rather roughly in his excitement.

 

“So it seems that the spring time of love has touched even you my friend!”

 

Kakashi swore he heard the word “lust” fall from Anko's lips, but chose to ignore it the same way he chose to ignore the rest of the table at the moment. So, he had been caught ogling his former student and ex-teammate, worst things had happened to him…but even they couldn't contend with the bout of shame he felt right now.

 

`She's a sweet innocent little girl of 24….ok so maybe she's not a little girl anymore and ok maybe I did just have thoughts of a sexual nature directed toward her….but that was before I knew it was her…'

 

During Kakashi's mental rant, he failed to notice Anko spilling the beans to the worst loudmouth at the table and his trusty sidekick. Genma jerked his head in Kakashi's direction and then looked over to the woman talking to her red haired friend at the bar.

 

Genma whispered to Raidou and the next second the russet haired ninja was off in a guise of getting himself another drink. Kakashi was just about to get up to make his exit only to be pulled down by Asuma who had just caught sight of their tables missing occupant.

 

“I think you should stick around for a few more minutes, you never know who's gonna drop by.”

 

The drink was obviously affecting his reaction time because in normal circumstances he would have seen what was coming. Usually he would have been two steps ahead of their little scheme. Unfortunately Kakashi was slightly intoxicated and even some of the greatest ninja's senses were dulled due to the drink's watery influence.

 

As Kakashi reached forward to polish off the rest of his bottle, two shadows descended upon him. He looked up to find Haruno Sakura beaming down on him with a somewhat questioning look in her emerald eyes. Raidou was right beside her smiling like a Cheshire cat.

 

“Kakashi, Raidou here said you were looking for me. Is there something you wanted?”

 

Genma burst into hysterical laughter causing the woman on his lap to bounce around with it. Anko sneered drunkenly, Gai gave Kakashi his famous “Beautiful Beast of Konoha” smile, Kurenai had to look away from the scene to keep her composure and Asuma was trying not to choke on his smoke. Kakashi to his credit, amidst the reactions stayed calm. He droopily looked up at her with a smile.

 

“Yes actually, I just wanted to remind you that it was room 2h tomorrow. I thought I might have said 2b instead.”

 

Kakashi wasn't the only one surprised and somewhat impressed with his answer. He caught all their reactions out of the corner of his eye and smirked inwardly.

 

`Shinobi rule #17: always expect the unexpected.'

 

“Oh, I remember and you said 2h not 2b.”

 

Sakura's piercing gaze scrutinized her friend closer. She looked from the one empty bottle of sake to the half empty one beside it. They both rested in front of Kakashi. She raised a pink eyebrow.

 

“D-Did you drink all that yourself?”

 

He nodded his head in the affirmative and that's when she noticed his dark eye looked slightly glazed over. Raidou took his seat again since the show was evidently over. The rest of his friends went back to their respective conversations as Kakashi rose from his chair intent on leaving yet again. Sakura stood there and watched his legs wobble just the tinniest bit as he got up.

 

“You know, I was just on my way out myself. Do you mind if I walk with you?”

 

This got the tables attention again. Sakura didn't seem to notice. She knew that the man could take on hordes of enemy ninja blindfolded, wounded and without any weapons but she had never seen the ninja drunk before and figured she might come in handy. Besides she didn't mind his company and her house was in the same direction. Kakashi seemed to think it over and then shrugged in a why-the-hell-not sort of way.

 

The two made their way toward the exit while the collective looked on in shock. Genma was the first to break the stony silence.

 

“No fucking way... He's not, he's not that lucky…”

 

His “squeeze” rolled her eyes as the rest considered his words. Apparently they all came to the same opinion.

 

XXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Much to Sakura's surprise it didn't look like she was needed after all. He seemed to be walking just fine and even managed to have a small conversation with her. He had been the one to engage first and that had surprised her.

 

“Are you sure you should have been out drinking? You were just recently released from the hospital you know.” Sakura scoffed at his words.

 

“As long as it's in moderation there's no harm. You should remember that next time your out with your friends.”

 

Sakura heard him mumble something under his breath about his said “friends” but she couldn't make it out. Kakashi had his hands in his pockets while staring up at the moon as they strolled down the main street of the village. The night breeze was refreshing considering the smoke filled environment they had just exited.

 

“What was that all about with Genma earlier? Why were they all acting…weird when I asked you what you wanted?” Sakura studied his profile as they continued to walk. She noticed the faint twitch of his eye. Something was up.

 

Kakashi had hoped that Sakura wouldn't have noticed or at least that she wouldn't have mentioned it. There was no way in hell he was going to tell her that he had picked her exclusively out of every woman in the bar as his choice to escort him home. He felt his eye twitch as he realized that inadvertently that was exactly what she was doing.. Sure, it wasn't with the intention that he had first fantasized, but here she was all the same. He quickly stomped down his traitorous thoughts. He felt dirty, “Genma” dirty and that wasn't a nice thing.

 

“…Nothing…absolutely nothing.” Sakura knew this was a bold face lie, but she also knew that there was utterly no way to drag the truth out of him. She sighed audibly as they rounded the corner and came upon his apartment complex.

 

Kakashi headed straight for his stairs without looking back. The only sign of a good-bye he gave her was a wave of his hand over his shoulder. Sakura was slightly irked at his behavior but she figured that was just his way and decided to let it be. She continued on the path to her own living quarters.

 

Kakashi sighed as he walked the short distance up the stairs. He hadn't looked at her or even made a sound as he had departed. Normally he wouldn't have been so rude, but it was for her own good and his. He had been afraid of the traitorous words that might have come out after having that short little episode in the bar.

 

If he had looked upon her, even for a second with the sort of eyes he had before he knew he would have asked her to accompany him. There was absolutely no way he was going to let that happen.

 

Kakashi thought that Sakura would probably be disgusted and that she would no doubt think him to be more of a dirty old pervert than she probably already thought he was due to his obsession with his books.

 

Besides, she wasn't just any woman, she was Haruno Sakura. He had seen her for the first time as something desirable yes, but she was definitely off limits in his case. Kakashi sighed and his traitorous thoughts were spoken aloud as he closed his door.

 

“I bet it would have been something…”

 

'A shinobi cannot live on Icha-Icha alone...'

 

Those were Kakashi's thoughts as he sought out his most trusted volume intent on a little midnight "reading".

 

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Author's Footnote:

 

…Author has massive nosebleed and faints while picturing aforementioned deed in head…

 

Ok so, at first this was going to end up as a one shot story but I later realized how well it fit into this one if I changed a few things and well…! Plus I felt bad since the last chapter was so short so here's to two updates in one day!

 

Ok for real this time, I promise…

 

Next Chapter

 

Sakura learns sword fighting! Her sensei looks familiar…Sakura begins to think this person maybe a very bad influence!

 

Why does Inner Sakura sound like Ino!

 

Next up!

 

Meet The Squad!

 

Thank you for reading!