You examined yourself in the full length mirror that hung on your bathroom door. Your eyes traveled from your hair, all the way down to the shoes you were wearing.

You couldn't help but to feel so confident in your outfit. You decided to go with a casual, white dress that had blue outlining the hem of the skirt and the outline of the sweet heart neck line. You wore a blue bow tied about your waist, and a blue vest that stopped right above your hips.

You threw on a pair of navy blue gloves that stopped at the wrist, and some white thigh high socks that had a band of blue around the top. You had on some simple 'tap shoe' styled flats buckled at your feet as well. (Outfit pictured at top)

Your hair looked amazing in its loose ringlet of curls and bangs perfectly framing your face, stopping right above your brows. You decided to get a little fancy with it and throw on one of your mothers flower crowns.

And you decided to braid one single braid to mix in with your curls.

You went light on the make up, only applying mascara and a touch of blush to add color to your cheeks, even though you were sure Kakashi would find someway to do that for you.

See, your cheeks filled with red on its own just thinking about it.

You applied deodorant, brushed your teeth, and added a couple of sprits of perfume. You smiled at your reflection, proud of yourself for actually looking good.

You sat in the living room, the time reading 8:47 pm. You had thirteen minutes til your lover was supposed to come, so you decided to watch tv.

"Faruto? What's this?" You asked yourself as you clicked the channel. You hit the "more info" button and read the description.

"A movie about a ninja who possesses the Nine-Footed Wolf, on a team called 'Crew 7' which contains an emo boy with a grudge against his sister, a purple haired girl who can't fight unless it's to save the Emo she has major feelings for, the boy who possesses the nine footed wolf with a spunky personality, a girl with daddy issues, and a Sensei who always has phony excuses but yet holds a strong love for the girl with daddy issues." You read the description out loud to yourself. "Eh.. sounds boring."

You switched the tv off and heard a knock on your door. The time read 8:50pm, so you were shocked to find Kakashi at your door.

"I thought you said 9? So to me that means 10-11 cause you're never on time." You said as you opened the door wider for him to come in.

He didn't say anything. He just stared and gawked at you, his eyes traveling up and down your body.

"Kakashi..? You okay?" You asked teasingly, knowing exactly why he wasn't saying anything.

"I..uh.. y-yeah I'm fine." He stuttered as he cleared his throat. "I got you these!" He awkwardly shouted as he handed you a bouquet of your favorite flowers.

"Aweee Sensei! You didn't have to do that."

You smiled as you took them from him, pulling him inside as well and shutting the door behind him.

"Let me get some water and a vase for these and we will head out." You said with a close eyed smile.

He didn't say anything, but proceeded to stare at you.

You turned around and walked to the kitchen, intentionally adding a little shake to your hips and a smirk to your face.

You grabbed a vase and filled it halfway up with water, placing it on the table and adding the flowers.

You took in a whiff of the sweet aroma, pulling away with a sad smile tugging at your lips.

"What's wrong?" Your Sensei asked, concern filling his voice.

"Nothing."

"We aren't playing this game, (y/n). Tell me what's wrong."

"My mom used this vase every time my dad brought her flowers home. It was always after a mission, sometimes not even then it'd just be randomly, and she would grab this vase and put it in this spot.

"Most people wouldn't think much of it, because it's the middle of the table. But if you notice it's slightly more pushed to her side, because she loved to smell them while we sat and ate."

Your smile fell as the thought of your mom crossed your mind. You hated her for leaving you, but you missed her.. you had no idea if she was even alive.. but it didn't matter, she was dead to you.

But you still loved her.

But you hated her at the same time.

You didn't know how to feel towards her anymore.

"Hey. It's okay, we don't have to talk about her. It's already almost nine, let's go ahead and walk to the ramen bar." Kakashi responded, placing his hand in your own and leading you to the door.

You shut and locked it behind you, then turned and faced your Sensei, him grabbing your hand and leading the way.

"You're holding my hand." You stated blatantly.

"Yes, that is what couples do hun."

"You called me hun."

"Are you just stating the obvious?"

"Heh heh you like my face."

He looked at you as he laughed. "Are you okay (y/n)? You're starting to babble. You only do that when you're nervous."

"You're nervous I'm not nervous."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah why are you babbling so much sheesh." You couldn't shut up, the closer you got to the ramen bar the more nervous you became.

"(Y/n), your palms are sweaty." He retaliated with a smile.

"Ew. I'm sorry." You said with a frown as you let go of his hand to wipe your palms on your dress. "I just.. I'm so nervous."

"Don't be babe. They don't know you're coming, so it'll be a nice surprise."

"What? They don't know I'm coming??" You practically yelled at him.

"Oh look we are here!!" He avoided your question as he ran to the door, holding it open for you.

You glared at him as you walked past him.

He grabbed your hand and let the door shut, walking you to a table filled with three other Sensei's.

"AH KAKASHI YOU ARE HERE! SIT SIT!" A bowl haired, bushy browed, green tracksuit wearing man child yelled.

Gai Sensei.

"Jeez Gai let him walk through the door before you start screaming." A long, black haired lady spoke. She wore a gorgeous dress with red and white and bandages wrapped around her.

Kurenai.

"Kakashi." A man with a cigarette at his lips nodded his head towards your Sensei.

Asuma.

"Who's this?" Asuma asked as he eyed you up and down, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Asuma, Kurenai, Gai, this is (Y/n) (L/n)." He introduced you to the three as he wrapped his arm around your waist, your cheeks flushing pink.

"(Y/n)? Your student? God I didn't even recognize her." Kurenai stared as she scooted closer to Asuma, leaving room for you to sit next to her. "You sure know how to dress to impress."

You smiled and thanked her, taking the seat she made available.

"Well, you will all be seeing a lot more of her when I'm around. Because (y/n) is actually not just my student, she is my girlfriend as well." Kakashi took a seat next to Gai, smiling a closed eye smile through his mask as he said those words.

Kurenai smiled, congratulating the both of you, where as Gai didn't take it as well.

"WHAAAAAT?! KAKASHI YOU GOT A BEAUTIFUL LADY TO CALL YOUR OWN AND SHOW OFF ON YOUR ARM? WELL I SHALL GET A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN TO BESTOW TO YOU ALL AS WELL!" He stood up and shouted, causing everyone's attention to fix on your table.

You leaned over and whispered to Kurenai. "Is he always this.. loud?"

"Loud? This is him on a good day. Just wait until he challenges Kakashi to some form of stupid competition." She responded, chuckling to herself.

After Gai was finished with his outburst and sat down, Asuma leaned over the table to look at you.

"So you're (y/n). The one Shikamaru kept going on and on about." As Asuma said Shikamaru's name you felt the color drain from your face, a sick feeling forming in your stomach.

Kakashi's head instantly jerked up when he heard his name, his fist clenching.

"You sure gave him a good beating. Had him bed ridden in the hospital for two weeks just so his arm could heal. Wanna tell me what that was about?" He asked, his words calm but you knew he held some kind of grudge against you for that.

"I-I... I'd rather not.." you managed to squeak out.

"Oh come on. You mean you're not going to tell me why you beat up my student and sent him to the hospital? What are you, some kind of bully?" Asuma spat at you, his tone changing instantly.

"Asuma don't." Kakashi said as he hit the table lightly with his fist.

"No. He told me about the docks. How he kissed you and you let it happen. But then you toyed with his heart. And now I know why. But why did you have to beat his ass? If anything, you're the one who played him!"

You stood to your feet quickly. Looking at Asuma and trying to fight the tears in your eyes.

"Yes, he kissed me. Yes I used to have feelings for him. But playing him? I never did that. Beat his ass? I did. But only because he didn't know how to take no for an answer... if it weren't for Kakashi walking in, your precious student would have had his way with me, while I was in a weakened state and couldn't stop him." You felt the hot tears run down your cheeks. Asuma's expression changed from angry to surprised, his mouth agape as he realized what he said was wrong.

"(Y/n) I-" Kakashi went to place his hand on your shoulder and comfort you, but you just took a step back.

"No, Sensei. I'm fine." You forced a smile and gently wiped your tears away.

"It was nice getting to officially meet all of you. I hope you enjoy the rest of your night." You nodded your head towards them and started to walk away.

Kakashi went to go follow you, but Kurenai grabbed his hand, getting to her feet.

"Don't worry, I got this." She said as she lightly pushed Kakashi to sit back down.

She turned to Asuma. "Maybe next time, ask her side before you accuse." She said with a daring look in her eye. Then she walked out of the bar, following you.

"(Y/n) wait!" She called to you as she jogged to catch up. "Asuma didn't mean what he said. Forgive him, he didn't know the full story."

"It's okay. I understand he's just sticking up for his student." You forced another smile, slowing down so she could catch up.

"You don't have to do that, you know." She said, lying her hand on your shoulder.

"Do what?"

"Force a smile. I know first hand how hard it can be to talk about stuff this kind of stuff. Yet alone have it happen to you.." she looked at the ground as she spoke.

"Wait.. you've had someone try to force themselves on you?" You asked perplexed.

"Not try.. they did." She gulped as she looked up, meeting your gaze with her own. "Once upon a time."

"Oh Kurenai.. I'm so sorry..."

"Don't be. I'm okay." She said with a reassuring smile. "I guarantee you, Asuma feels like a jerk right now. It's no secret that him and I are together, but we weren't always so close. When we first got together all that time ago, I was honest about not being a virgin. However, he didn't let me explain that I had been raped, and automatically assumed that some claims made by others about me were true.

"Someone forced me, then told everyone I willingly let them into my bed. Every one accused me of being a whore and a skank.. no one took the time to ask me what really happened.. even Asuma. So when he found out the truth, he was devastated by the way he had treated me." She looked a head of her, her eyes lost in distant memories.

She shook her head and snapped out of her thoughts. "I guarantee you, he will apologize and mean every word of it."

"It's fine really. I don't need an apology. I just don't want him to think so horridly of me. Yeah I beat up Shikamaru, but with good reason." You friends as you looked down. You hadn't realized that as Kurenai was talking, she led you back outside of the ramen bar.

"He won't be upset with you. If anything, it's Shikamaru who's gonna hear about this." She smiled as she laid a reassuring hand on your shoulder.

"Welcome to this group, (y/n). Here, we won't judge you for anything, as long as your actions are justifiable. We get in arguments sometimes, but we always talk them out especially when we know it was us in the wrong." She gave your shoulder a light squeeze. "Let Asuma make this right. Then we can all get full on ramen and drunk on Sake!"

You let out a genuine laugh, an overwhelming feeling of happiness taking over you.

You have a boyfriend, a best friend, a team, and now more friends. You weren't lonely anymore. That's the only thing you've ever wanted.

"You ready to go back inside?" Kurenai asked as she let go of your shoulder.

You smiled and held the door open for her.

"After you."