A/N: So thanks to FuturisticData, I'm going to stop making Kohana say 'ttebane' and just replace it with 'ya know' (even if ‘ttebane’ and ‘ttebayo’ don't really have any English translations or real meanings to them). That will be easier for all of us, most especially me. It's not going to bother anyone anymore so YAY! :L Seriously, yay!
“Isn’t he…”
“Yes! Yes! That’s him, that’s him. I heard he was in the Chuunin Exams two and a half years ago!”
“Oh! I remember. He was sitting with some girl in the finals, right?”
“That’s right… I heard they’re pretty close.”
“Hmm… anyway, I thought he was pretty cute before but this is just plain ridiculous!”
“Stupid! Don’t exaggerate stuff! No one can beat Uchiha Sasuke-kun!”
“But he’s a rogue!”
Groaning quietly to himself, Satoru Yoshiaki pressed two fingers against his left eyebrow. He could already feel the migraine coming. Not once did he appreciate so many girls talking behind his back. It was almost like a violation of privacy rights! It was also as if he was some kind of nude model just walking around, exposed to the watchful eyes of so many perverted girls! Though he too was not pleased about being compared to the bastard traitor Uchiha, he could feel some sort of empathy towards the young man.
‘Seriously… how does he even manage without a girlfriend?’ Yoshiaki thought. Troublesome couldn’t even begin to describe the girls in Konohagakure.
Two and a half years ago, he hated Konoha. However, Fuyu Kohana managed to convince him to give the village another chance during their fight in the preliminaries of the exams. It was thanks to her that he had always been willing to jump at the chance to visit. A year ago, it wasn’t long before he was offered to transfer to the village… seeing as everyone knew how attached he had become.
Once Yoshiaki was told about the offer, he consulted his former team mates first. How it was such a bombshell to everyone, he didn’t want to be reminded of. Kei Hisako and Hiro Eiji, despite their renewed bonds, knew that it was wise to let go of their team mate. They seemed to wish him nothing but happiness.
It was because of this that Yoshiaki was still unable to decide.
He was happy with the life he had now of course… in spite of the world’s lack of peace. With a little consultation from Osamu long ago, Yoshiaki was told to grab whatever bits and pieces of happiness he could find since he seemed to be the type who would be willing to carry it all.
With a sigh, Yoshiaki cracked his knuckles. At times like this, he would wonder how much he changed over the past few years. It was during the little times he and Kohana would spend talking about themselves, that the red head would often say that Yoshiaki never changed and never will. While other moments seemed to give Kohana the impression that Yoshiaki matured a whole lot… aside from his looks.
No longer did Yoshiaki feel like talking about the traumas of his life. Sure, he still liked to talk about himself—which Kohana now found “charming and cute” instead of narcissistic—but he only talked of the more joyful times in his life. Sometimes though, he refrained from talking about his life at all to avoid sounding too much like an old man that lived in the past.
“Yoshiaki! There you are!”
Frowning slightly, Yoshiaki slowly turned around at the familiar voice.
It couldn’t be…
Before Yoshiaki could even register the outrageousness of it all, a pair of warm and supple lips crashed against his.
It was instinct for his green eyes to widen and only then did he truly realize how incredible it was that she was here. Especially when she had specifically said that she and her sensei would be coming back for another ten months at least.
However, he learned not to ponder over such things… not when she was finally back.
Wrapping his arms around Kohana’s small waist, Yoshiaki closed his eyes in contentment and pulled her against him. He had no problems about kissing in the middle of the entire village. It was almost an entire year since he’d last seen her… why wait when the girl was just as willing as he was?
It was a long time before they broke apart for air, also drawing out different sorts of reactions from the little audience that lingered to watch the romantic exchange.
“I missed you,” Kohana breathed, securely wrapping her arms around Yoshiaki’s neck and toyed with his still messy and slightly longer, inky hair as she savored the warmth being shared between them. Yoshiaki’s eyes remained closed as he positioned his chin atop the crown of his lover’s head. “I know, I missed you too.”
Yoshiaki was never good with anything related to romance. Not once was he ever associated with such a thing, but that obviously changed once Kohana came cavorting along. Of course, it wasn’t a surprise that he was the first to hold such strong, ardent feelings for her, but the way he displayed it was quite… strange.
It was months before Yoshiaki last saw Kohana almost a year ago when he unsurprisingly went to Osamu for advice (with an exasperated comment from the man about why so many people came to him for such things). It took Yoshiaki one entire day to display his feelings without words. Like being extra protective about her, flirting with her in a very confusing fashion (according to Kohana and Osamu), holding her hand out of nowhere and many other embarrassing actions.
It all worked out in the end though. It was almost midnight when Yoshiaki mustered up everything he had to give her one small peck on the cheek and seconds after, Kohana was already yelling at him about his failure to simply display his feelings normally. A small quarrel followed shortly after her small outburst.
Again, everything worked out in the end.
“I’m guessing you made Osamu report again?”
Kohana laughed against Yoshiaki’s chest, unwilling to pull away. “Are you kidding me? It’s been one year and I pretty much wanted to see Tsunade-sama so I stayed around… for a while.”
Yoshiaki chuckled through his nose and smoothed out Kohana’s long red hair—how he missed the feeling—then gently pushed her away, holding her out at arm’s length. “Are you free?”
Perhaps that was one of the things that had changed about him. Yoshiaki grew to be more expressive, through both words and actions.
Tsunade frowned behind her intertwined hands.
“I see… and how did you find out?”
Osamu placed his hands in his pockets. “Those two aren’t exactly the best at stealth. In fact, I assume that they are not even trying.”
The Godaime sighed, massaging her temples with manicured fingers. She really needed a drink just about now. “Alright… I will see what I can do about this matter. In the meantime, keep training her. Who knows what might happen soon.”
“Yes, Godaime-sama,” he said then bowed gracefully.
However, as he turned to leave, Tsunade spoke once again.
“Are you sure about this?”
“…Yes.”
“Aw yeah! This is the absolute best!”
A corner of Yoshiaki’s lips curled into a slight smirk as he flipped over a piece of beef tongue, bringing forth a more delectable sound of cooking meat. They were in currently in the farthest corner of Yakiniku Q, the famous Gyū-Kaku-styled restaurant of Konoha.
“It’s a wonder how you’ve never even visited this place,” he stated, though only as a mere jest.
Taking a sip from her tea, Kohana glared at Yoshiaki over the cup. It was true that from all the years she had stayed in Konoha, going to Yakiniku Q always seemed to be out of the question. The allowance she was given monthly by the Sandaime was strictly for living purposes. She never had the chance to go to such a well-known restaurant with inadequate money and so many missions. Not to mention she hardly ever visited after Osamu had made the almost “ingenious” proposal of staying outside the village to take on the advanced missions and train, train, train.
Yoshiaki could have come with her, but seeing as their difference in strength hardly ever changed was already a factor someone responsible should consider.
“Well,” Yoshiaki started, startling Kohana, “at least I get to be the first person able to take you here.”
Kohana sucked in a short breath, finally feeling herself cave in to her sudden bashful side.
With a blush, she brought the rim of the cup once again to her lips, averting her gaze as the blush rose up her cheeks, seeming to brighten up her features slightly.
Green eyes glinted from Yoshiaki’s withheld delight as he reached out across the table.
The cup was pulled away from Kohana’s hand by none other than Yoshiaki.
“Yoshiaki…” she breathed in embarrassment, blue eyes darting around the entire restaurant. Even though not one person spared a glance at the couple, Kohana couldn’t help but be wary about what they were doing. After all, they were in a public place.
With his right hand, Yoshiaki intertwined their fingers gently as he leaned closer, making sure to avoid toppling over the objects placed on the table separating them.
“This… uh… th-this is a little r-random isn’t it…?” Admittedly, Kohana absolutely had no problems with Yoshiaki kissing her, especially if it would be out of nowhere, but she certainly felt a little uneasy about him kissing her in a restaurant, a place that could be as public as any other.
“You didn’t have any problems with it earlier when you kissed me, right?”
“Well—ah! Geez!” Kohana exclaimed, fuming as Yoshiaki slumped back, a victorious smirk playing on his lips. “Don’t kiss my nose in public, it’s embarrassing ya know! You’re hurting my pride too!”
Laughing through his nose, Yoshiaki caught the chopsticks that were thrown at him.
“Oh! So the rumors were true,” exclaimed Haruno Sakura, appearing to be totally flabbergasted at the couple that passed by in front of her. Upon hearing this, Kohana’s ears perked and before either Yoshiaki or Sakura could comprehend it, the female Uzumaki was actually hugging Sakura.
Blinking several times, the pink-haired Chuunin awkwardly patted Kohana’s back. It was true that the two haven’t seen each other for a very long time but Sakura never ever expected Kohana to hug her, much less be excited about a reunion. Sakura figured that was reserved for Naruto.
Or perhaps… even Sasuke.
As curious as she was, Sakura still knew that Sasuke was a very touchy subject. It may have been so for the entire Team 7, but she figured, in terms of romance and, well, the betrayal Kohana obviously felt and displayed to the entire world, Kohana would be the most affected… probably.
Almost shaking her head, Sakura mentally sighed. She still loved Sasuke, that was for sure, but why would she even think of how much Sasuke leaving overwhelmed Kohana in more ways than one? Although that was something Sakura still couldn’t deny at all, Kohana was no different than she, Naruto and even Kakashi. Everyone was still crushed…
The only problem was, Kohana was the only one who capitulated to the temptation of wanting to forget and even, dare she think it, loathe Sasuke.
Yes, according to Yoshiaki (whom she’d only talked to for two to three times), Kohana had gone over Sasuke. No one knew why and no one knew how Kohana was able to do such a thing, but they were sure that Kohana had gone to living for Sasuke and Naruto to just living for the entire village and nothing other than that. Otherwise, Sakura had a feeling that Kohana wouldn’t be as joyful as she obviously was at the moment. Through the eyes of normal human beings at least.
This time, Sakura ceded to the need of shaking her head as she waited for Kohana to pull away, which she did, almost immediately. She didn’t need to think of such things for the moment.
“So how’s my annoying fan girl of a rival doing?”
Sakura could have sworn she saw a sort of darkness flare in the girl’s usually bright eyes. She deduced that Kohana remembered about Sasuke. How couldn’t she?
“I’m doing nice… I’ve gotten stronger, just as I told you I would be,” Sakura told Kohana, a small hint of pride in her voice.
As if that small spark of hatred never even existed in the first place, Kohana’s eyes gleamed with unbridled curiosity.
“Really? Then, why don’t we have a spar?”
Yoshiaki’s dulled and half-lidded jade eyes looked back and forth at the chatting ladies. He never felt so out of place in his entire life.
“Sorry about that… but I’m going to help out in the hospital for a while. Some other time I guess.”
Shoulders sagged in dejection. Even if Kohana just came from an S-ranked mission, she hoped for some action—the non-killing kind—with some old friends.
“But if you’re not doing anything for the rest of the day, why don’t you visit Kakashi-sensei and Naruto? I’m sure they’ll be really happy to see you!” Sakura’s said brightly, her emerald eyes suddenly widening in elation at the thought of Naruto and their sensei’s reaction to Kohana’s return. Surely, judging from Kohana’s improved physical appearance, they would be in for a surprise.
Kohana’s breath hitched and for a fleeting moment, Sakura assumed that Kohana wasn’t very happy or perhaps ready to see either of the two “men”. However, the dust cloud that formed in the redhead’s wake told her otherwise.
Sakura noticed that Kohana had dragged Yoshiaki with her as well, judging from all the remonstrations that could be heard, fading along the dirt path.
A/N: Good times for a few more chapters... and then things will start going downhill from then on. Ready? I'm most certainly am not! :)