Ballerina at Sea

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Cha6ix

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“Do you have an ID?”

Both kunoichi looked at each other grimly. The bouncer stood there, firm and unrelenting. His eyes were shielded by a pair of sunglasses.

Ino glared at her friend. “I guess you look prepubescent today…”

Sakura could feel her inner-self being fueled. “I do not! You picked this outfit for me!”

Suddenly the bouncer lowered his glasses, and Sakura noticed his tired eyes. He wasn’t even looking at them when they walked up.

He motioned for them to enter. “Oops… sorry ladies.” He told them, moving out of the way. “Just a little off today…”

Neither kunoichi could believe their luck. Without hesitating they rushed in, their eyes childlike with awe.

They were finally in…

“Forehead, can you believe it?” Ino cried, her voice screechy and filled with unbridled joy. “We‘re at Madoka‘s… the absolute finest bar in town.”

“I‘m surprised he even let you in…” Sakura replied, still sour over her earlier remark.

They stood at the foyer of the bar, which was very large but also cozy because it was separated into a variety of different rooms. It was a popular bar in town for both the high class ninja.

The only difference was that Ninja got in free. The owner of the bar, Madoka, was known for being from a very prominent clan. However, she was also a ninja and understood they couldn‘t be bothered by an entrance fee.

Not minding the fee for drinks of course… Sakura thought to herself after glancing at the drink menu in the corner, noticing that the cheapest drink without any extras was over two thousand yen.

Looks like we won‘t be getting drunk tonight… She moaned, suddenly missing the momentary relief that alcohol gave you. The aftereffects laid forgotten.

Sakura turned towards Ino to ask her where they wanted to sit but was astonished when she discovered that her friend was no longer there. Instead she was already at the side of some high paying twenty something.

Her eyes were full of stars and Sakura felt disgusted. Ino was already working her magic… trying to get some unlucky guy to be her plaything, and her wallet. Never mind Ino made quite enough as a ninja and botanist.

It would only figure that her friend would leave her as soon as she found someone else.

I won‘t waste this though… Sakura thought to herself. Even if these classes were terrible she‘d never be able to get into this bar again… and least not for a couple more years. No matter how much you paid even some of the richest weren‘t allowed in if they couldn‘t legally buy a drink. This month was probably just an exception.

“Oh~!”

A gasp startled Sakura into turning around, coming face to face with a blushing Hinata.

That was something she never expected to see. Hinata avoided bars at almost every opportunity.

But, Sakura noted, she was flanked by smiling Tenten. That would explain it at least partly.

“Hinata? Tenten?” Sakura spoke. “What… what are you doing here?”

Hinata made a small sound, but failed to reply.

It was up to Tenten.

“Well…” She began in an almost sing song voice… “I just knew we could get in tonight so I asked Hinata to come along…”

“She agreed?” Sakura asked, a little surprised. Was Hinata also bothered by these classes?

What a stupid thought. Sakura moaned inside her mind. If this is bothering me Hinata must be near death.

Freakishly, however, Hinata didn‘t look stressed out at all. Rather, she was smiling. Sakura believed she was hiding her discomfort.

“I agreed!” She said, a smile present on her face. “I‘m not supposed to go in bars on normal occasions. But Madoka is a family friend so I imagine it‘s okay.”

Sakura couldn‘t even begin to imagine the restrictions on most of Hinata‘s coices. Now with Hinata getting stronger she might even be more valued as the heir… so most of her missions were probably limited. She was near marriageable age anyway.

Sakura felt her heart weigh at that thought. Another good thing about not being from a clan. Some entered into loveless marriages. She could only hope Hinata would not turn out to be one of them.

Sakura’s mother threatened to disown her if she entered a loveless marriage. Perhaps such incentives were what shaped her obsession over Sasuke.

“But actually…” Tenten began. “We we’re just about to leave. I have training, and well… Hinata has something to do apparently.”

Sakura could only imagine a curfew.

With a few short goodbyes the two kunoichi left, leaving Sakura alone again.

Thinking back to Hinata, Sakura tried to lift her own spirits. If Hinata wasn’t going to get worked up about the classes, neither was she. At least not in public.

I was dragged from home after a bad day at work… Sakura mused to herself. The least I could do is go to bed happy.

The kunoichi ventured further into the establishment, taking note of fellow kunoichi and ninja within. There were a few girls her age that she recognized, and some older ninja as well. It seemed as if everyone but the rookie nine men were here.

Even Temari was in the corner, chatting with some random guy. Why she was here in Konoha wasn’t a mystery. Tsunade probably enlisted the help of Suna kunoichi over the next few weeks. Though Suna hardly owed Konoha anything anymore the relations between them stayed strong. It was an unlikely friendship.

Temari wasn’t flirting, Sakura noticed. Merely talking.

Sakura didn’t feel like hitting up a date either, so she made her way over to the counter. She could at least afford one drink.

She ordered the cheapest on the menu, and the bartender looked at her with scorn.

Parting with her yen was painful. She had worked almost an hour for that alone.

Luckily the drink was good, so she only complained in her head.

She heard a commotion and turned her attention to a cluster of people. Anko was there, teasing some poor girl who had the biggest blush on her face. Sakura could only hope that she wouldn’t be the next target.

“You look awfully young to be here…”

A male voice interrupted her, and Sakura turned around. She was surprised to see that he was a man just a little older than her, and he was good looking. She could already feel a buzz from her drink clouding her senses.

“Uh, I-”

He interrupted her. “I suppose I came on youth night? Everyone here is younger than normal. That‘s okay, I like younger girls.”

He smiled brightly, and in a way that was more teasing then lecherous.

Normally Sakura would frown at such remarks. Instead she blushed.

“My name is Hiromi.” He greeted, sitting down beside her. “I’m actually out of uniform, but I’m a ninja too. A jonin.”

Sakura’s face brightened. “Wait, how did you know I’m a ninja?”

He chuckled. “I have a sister your age, actually. She’ll be taking the classes with you.”

Sakura darkened again.

“I didn’t mean to make you sad.” He apologized.

She shook her head. “It’s okay. I’m just uncomfortable with it. My name is Sakura.”

Hiromi smiled. “Nice to meet you. Would you like another drink?”

“Huh?”

Sakura couldn’t keep up with this man. For some reason she found him charming. Was she smitten with him already? Impossible, she had just met him. She looked at him quickly, taking notice of his dark hair.

Oh… She thought to herself. Of course, he kind of reminds me of Sasuke.

She was surprised that she found it appealing though. He had denied her of her request to date after coming back to Konoha. However, unlike Sasuke Hiromi was brighter.

Sakura discovered she was attracted to his smile. Friendly like Naruto’s only not as stupid.

Wait… Inner Sakura called out. Didn’t you just say you weren’t going to flirt? You never flirt anyway!

Well, that was a lie. Sometimes she teased her team mates. The only one she didn’t flirt with was Lee. She didn’t want to make the poor guy sad, though. He was just beginning to look the other way. There was nothing more disheartening to Sakura than losing a friend.

“I asked if you would like another drink.” Hiromi spoke, looking at her in surprise. “Hey, are you listening? Did I bore you already?”

There was a hint of amusement in his voice, and it called Sakura back to earth.

“Of course not!” She answered, embarrassed. She looked down at her cup and realized it was empty. “I just didn’t know I already drank it all. Heh…”

“Oh.” Hiromi replied.

I feel like such a dork! Sakura berated herself. If Ino was looking right n-

She heard a whistle from the corner of the room and looked up.

“Speak of the devil…” Sakura moaned, loud enough for Hiromi to hear.

He turned around towards Ino. “The devil? She doesn’t look like a devil.”

The blonde kunoichi narrowed her eyes at Sakura.

“Hey!” She yelled out, loud enough for everyone in the building to hear. “Just what are you saying about me?”

Her arm was laced around the guy from earlier, but there was a smile on her face. Ino was only joking.

“See you later, Sakura!” She yelled out cheerfully. “I’ll be leaving early!”

Ino-Pig. Sakura groaned. Well, at least you didn’t call me forehead.

“You‘re friends with the devil?” Hiromi asked after Ino was out of ear shot. “I mean, I suppose she looks a bit devious.”

The kunoichi smiled. “Yeah, I‘m friends with the devil. She‘s a good friend though.”

They both laughed, and Hiromi called the bartender.

“This one‘s on me, okay?”

Normally Sakura would tell a guy It‘s okay. Today, however… she felt inclined to just go along with things. What could it hurt?

They spent the next half and hour talking about the stupidest, but funniest things. Anko only came by once to teased Sakura, but left her alone with only a smirk after seeing how well she was getting along with Hiromi. Get‘m! Were her farewell words before going off tease another girl.

“And theeennn…” Sakura slurred. “Naruto smashed into the poor ladies hut. We were cleaning up his mess for houuurs.”

She was drunk, happily taking up Hiromi‘s repeated offers for another drink. However, as the night wore on she noticed that her new friend was looking dark, and a little depressed. At first she assumed he was not interested in her at all, but felt bad about leaving her alone. When she noticed that he got more skittish whenever the kunoichi classes came up she had an idea.

“Your sister…” The kunoichi began, looking him straight into the eyes. Sakura knew that she was treading on private matters, but also felt he needed to talk about it. “Your not happy about her taking the classes, are you?”

Somehow she managed to not slur her words, suddenly feeling sober now that the happy mood was sapped away.

“Yeah…” Hiromi replied. “She‘s so upset that she did something stupid.”

Sakura felt her heart beat. “Something stupid? Like what?”

He looked away. “I‘m not supposed to talk about it…”

“The accident this morning? The one at the outpost?” Sakura answered for him. “She was that girl?”

Hiromi fired a look of anger at her, and Sakura looked down at her lap mouthing a sorry.

She tended to be a bit insensitive while drunk.

“I know she got in trouble.” Sakura added. “But… she didn‘t really go to jail… right?”

“She didn‘t go to jail.” Hiromi replied, lifting weight off of Sakura‘s shoulders. She was worried about that. What if she was sent to jail for not showing up to the classes? Well, maybe not jail. She would be punished of course.

“Rather,” He began. “She has to take the classes three years in a row and will do six of those special missions in lieu of going to prison for a few years.”

In all intents and purposes Sakura supposed that was fair. But not if the reason why you fucked up an outpost by accident was to escape that. Rather, jail would‘ve been more pleasant. Three years? Six special missions?

Sakura darkened. Could she really avoid those classes?

“Wow. I guess I can‘t follow her then…” Sakura admitted, instantly covering her mouth.

Hiromi looked shocked. “You were going to accidentally destroy an outpost?”

She shook her head furiously. “Of course not! I was just going to… sort of accidentally kind of forget the classes.”

“Forget?” He smiled. “I don‘t think that‘s possible.”


“You’re right.” Sakura giggled. “That’s like saying the dog at my homework.”


They began to joke again, instantly hitting it off. Sakura was careful to keep away about the accident or the classes.

It all seemed like the normal, drunken conversation again.


That is until he showed up midway into the night.

“Sakura-chan?”

The kunoichi felt a hand land on her shoulders and she spinned around, coming face to face with Kakashi.

For some reason he didn‘t look too happy.

“Kakashi-sensei?” Sakura cracked out. “What are you doing here?”

He grabbed at her wrist and pulled her away from Hiromi.

“I need to talk with you.” He told her before turning to her friend and politely telling him off.

Hiromi just sat there with a shocked and even scared look on his face. He could easily see that Kakashi was not happy, and with him being a jonin as well he undoubtedly knew Kakashi and what he was capable of.

“Ow!” Sakura called out, prying her wrist from Kakashi‘s grasp as they left the bar none-to-pleasantly. Sakura struggled the whole way, and there a tense silence coming from Kakashi. When they finally arrived outside he pulled her into the alleyway.

“What are you doing here?” He asked harshly. “Shouldn‘t you be at home?”

She looked at him confused. “At home? Why? Kakashi, I don‘t even have work tomorrow.”

Okay, that was a lie, but he wouldn‘t know that. It didn‘t matter to him if she had work tomorrow or not. It shouldn‘t anyway. He even forgot her birthday last year. He never remembered his own for the matter.

“Well, aren‘t you…” He waved his hands around, having trouble forming the words. “Depressed?”

Kakashi really couldn’t understand her.

Sakura really couldn‘t understand him.

“Depressed…?” She mouthed. “Of course, I have those classes and… what are you getting at?”

“Shouldn‘t you be at home… hiding under your covers?” He replied.

She glared at him. “I‘m not twelve. You sound like I did this morning. I followed Ino out. I wasn‘t happy at first, but Madoka‘s was open. I wasn‘t going to pass this opportunity up.”

He snorted. “Opportunity? Is that what you call this?”

“What should I call it? If this were any other time I wouldn’t be allowed in.”

Sakura could feel Kakashi’s anger as she said this.

“So you’re here because of that? You’re taking advantage of that?” Despite the emphasis on both words he was quieting down, his voice not as loud. He was disappointed in her really.

“Why shouldn’t I?” Sakura asked, cooling down with him “I met someone new. I was happy. I actually forgot about it.”

He walked towards the end of the alley.

“Happy?” Kakashi droned. “That wasn‘t happy… that was ecstatic.”

Sakura blinked. “I looked that happy?”

Even though he was turned away from her she could see the slight tilt of his head.

“Yes. You never smile like that normally. Only when something great happens. Like your first birthday after the chunin exams when Ino gave you that gift, or when Sasuke came back.”

He remembered a birthday years ago but not the birthday months ago? Sakura felt bitter. That was so like Kakashi.

“I was relieved to find someone to talk to. A new friend.”

The jonin sneered. “Friend? What kind of new friend buys a girl that many drinks?”

“That isn’t fair Kakashi-sensei.” Sakura argued. “How can you say that? He was only being nice. He wasn’t having a good day either!”

Why was she even defending him? Why did she have to?

He turned toward her. “It’s perfectly fair, Sakura-chan. Men his age only want one thing. Around this time, as you said… certain things must happen. I suppose it is more available.”

Sakura moved toward him, but he already put his hands in the position of a seal.

“Go home, Sakura.”

He disappeared in a gust of leaves.

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A Rotten Word with Biscuit

Here is the next chapter like I promised XD. I don’t like short chapters either unless updates are speedy (which is my goal). I also don’t like to split chapters into different scenes, and I thought it would fit better if I split it where I did.

Anyway, Kakasaku action! Over the next few chapters Kakashi will begin to see that his little student isn’t so little anymore and the relationship develop! Well, and Hiromi as well. But I think I will keep Hiromi as a minor friend. He won’t be that important. Though he will be present often in this story’s first arc. This is a Kakasaku fic after all. I just don’t think any of the male ninja her age will be that involved during this story do to the secrecy around the classes. Doesn’t mean they won’t show up. (Sasuke is in Konoha, Naruto is on a mission.)

Thanks for the reviews and for reading my story!