Chapter Text
Oh, I really should have brought Ayame along for this…
You stood in the clothing shop, trying to talk yourself out of changing back into the yellow dress for the fifth time. Every time you switched between the yellow and the teal, you disliked each a little more. Maybe neither was any good, and you should just start fresh. You weren’t even sure where you were going tonight, which made the decision nearly impossible.
You sighed, wishing you had asked Kakashi for more details last night. But you were honestly just happy you’d been coherent enough to accept. This same time yesterday, the idea of Kakashi showing up and asking you on a date would have been pure fantasy. Now that it was your reality, you figured you deserved a new dress for the occasion.
It just wasn’t as fun, though, when you didn’t have anyone there to keep you from that specific spiral of dread that can come from shopping for new clothes by yourself.
Cautiously, you stepped out of the tiny changing room in order to see yourself in the three-way mirror. Hmmm, was the hem falling at a weird length? You supposed you could take it to the tailor and have Nuno alter it for you, but you were on a bit of a time crunch. And would it even be worth it? True, you did like the silhouette of the dress, and the neckline was surprisingly flattering, but what if it was too dressy? Or not dressy enough? Or—
“Y/N?”
You startled a little at the sound of your name. In the mirror, you watched as three figures walked up to you: first Sakura, then Ino, and finally Hinata.
“Oh, hi girls,” you smiled and turned to face them.
Growing up and working in Konoha’s most popular noodle shop, you had always managed to keep a friendly rapport with everyone. But since your involvement in the Academy Festival, you noticed the other genin squads were nearly as comfortable with you as Naruto’s team was.
It was especially sweet, considering the way Naruto used to run to the shop each day after class, telling you (highly embellished) stories about every one of his classmates. Having seen the way he could laugh and joke with them now just made your heart feel warm and full.
Plus, Hinata’s shy crush on Naruto was almost too adorable for you to handle.
“Wow, Y/N!” Sakura beamed. “That dress is beautiful!”
“Yes, um, you look lovely,” Hinata added, fiddling with the ties of her sweatshirt.
“Really?” you asked, twisting to get a different view. “I’m just not sure about this color.”
“Oh the color is perfect!” Ino nodded enthusiastically. “Is it for anything special?”
You blushed. “Well… I’m actually going on a date tonight.”
Sakura gasped, her expression changing into something more like panic than excitement. “You are?”
“Yes,” you grinned. “What’s so shocking about that?”
“Oh, n-nothing,” she shook her head.
“What are you doing for your date?” Ino asked.
“You know, I’m actually not sure,” you mused. “I guess it’s supposed to be a surprise.”
“Well, you should definitely get that dress,” Sakura nodded. “It really does look nice.”
“Thank you, Sakura. I think I will. I just hope it’s appropriate for whatever we end up doing.”
“Oh, look at the time! Ino, Hinata, we have to go!”
“We do?” Ino sneered.
“Yes, we do,” Sakura urged through gritted teeth. “Sorry Y/N, we’ll see you again soon okay?”
“Sure thing girls. Bye!”
“I hope you have fun on your date,” Hinata quietly added. Sakura threw a disapproving glance at the Hyūga girl before pulling both of her companions out of the shop.
⁂
“What’s your problem, Billboard Brow?” Ino groaned, brushing the creases out of her sleeves where Sakura’s grip had wrinkled the fabric.
“We have to find Kakashi-sensei.”
Ino scoffed. “Why?!”
“I don’t have time to explain it to you, Ino Pig!” Sakura retorted. “Hinata, can you try using your Byakugan and see if you can find Kakashi-sensei?”
“Um, okay,” Hinata stammered. She took a breath and activated her Kekkai Genkai and scanned the village square. Sakura didn’t hold out much hope; she knew her sensei was notoriously difficult to find, even when he wasn’t aware anyone was looking for him.
“I think I see him!” Hinata gasped.
“Really? Where?!”
“Well, I found Gai-sensei, and he is with his team and one other person. I’m not completely sure, but it might be Kakashi-sensei.”
“And if it isn’t, that weirdo probably knows where he is,” Ino added.
“Let’s go!”
⁂
“But it is just not fair, Gai-sensei!” Lee proclaimed. “Our team has not been assigned a mission in a very long time! Why would the Hokage give you an assignment without including your students?! How can we become splendid shinobi without our sensei’s supervision and wisdom??”
“THE INJUSTICE OF IT ALL!” Gai agreed as he pulled his students into a teary hug. “I begged Lord Third to let me bring you along but sadly this assignment is just too advanced for genin! But I will miss you three from the moment I step foot outside the village until the second I return!”
“GAI-SENSEI!” Lee wailed while his teammates struggled to escape.
“We have almost an entire day before I have to go! For the next twelve hours we won’t be more than a millimeter apart!”
Kakashi leaned against the fence, lazily waiting until Gai finally put his students’ feet back on the ground. Neji and Tenten both bristled, brushing away Gai’s affection in a way that reminded him of his ninken shaking water from their fur.
“Kakashi-sensei!” Sakura called as the group of girls hurried over.
“Hello Sakura, Hinata, Ino.” Kakashi kept his expression neutral, despite being grateful for the distraction. But where Kakashi lacked enthusiasm, Gai would always make up the deficit.
“Girls, you are a shining display of the passion of youth! What’s gotten you so excited?” Gai asked.
“Sensei, we saw Y/N shopping and she said she was getting a new dress for a date. Tonight!” Sakura exclaimed, staring her teacher down.
“Sh-she is?” Kakashi stammered.
“Yes, and she looked so beautiful,” Hinata blushed.
“That is wonderful!” Rock Lee cheered. “Y/N is a splendid citizen of the Leaf! Any man would be lucky to take her on a date!”
“Well—hear that, Kakashi!?” Gai laughed, clapping his hand on Kakashi’s back. “You’re a lucky man!”
“You’re her date?” the kids all asked.
“Oh thank goodness,” Sakura exhaled.
“Why do you all sound so surprised?” Kakashi sighed.
“It’s just that she’s so nice and normal,” Tenten explained, “and you’re…”
“An exemplary embodiment of the power of youth!” Gai supplied.
“Kind of boring,” Ino said.
“Ino!” Lee gasped. “How could you say that about the only shinobi who can rival the great Gai-sensei!?”
“I mean, sure, he has the whole ‘Kakashi-of-a-Thousand-Jutsu’ thing going for him,” she backpedaled, “but that’s only impressive as a ninja thing. This is a date! What will he talk about?”
“Why should he not be able to regale her with the tales of his victories?!” Lee asked.
“Quiet, Lee,” Neji sighed.
“Maybe they won’t need to talk much,” Tenten suggested. “Sensei, what are you and Y/N doing for your date?”
Kakashi prickled at the implication that he couldn’t carry on a conversation. “We—”
“Yeah, she said it was going to be a surprise!” Ino remembered.
“Oh Sensei!” Sakura wailed. “You have to take her somewhere nice! Don’t be cheap!”
“Oh no, don’t tell me it was going to be casual.” Tenten shook her head and turned to Hinata. “He’s cute but he’s not that cute.”
“Tenten, please do not speak of any Sensei in that manner,” Neji grumbled.
“You’re all making a much bigger deal out of this than it needs to be,” Kakashi begged, putting his hands up as he nervously smiled at the crowd of genin. “It’s a perfectly normal date. I’m just going to take her to dinner.”
“Well, you need to take her somewhere nice, Sensei,” Sakura said. “The dress she was buying is very pretty, and she looked beautiful.”
Images crossed Kakashi’s mind of how you looked at the banquet of the Spring Festival. If you looked even half as stunning as you had that night, he might not be capable of making conversation. He had hardly gotten his lackluster apology out that night. But to think of you looking so captivating specifically for a date with him… Kakashi’s mouth immediately felt dry.
“Kakashi, if Y/N is going to such extremes to look nice, maybe you should put some effort in as well,” Gai suggested.
“Excuse me?” Kakashi raised his eyebrow.
“What are you going to wear when you escort Y/N on this romantic date?” Gai asked.
“Um,” Kakashi looked down at his typical ensemble; his dark blue shirt and pants with his jōnin vest covering his torso. He’d been so busy picturing how you might look, he hadn’t considered that his clothing might be lacking.
“Really, Sensei? Your uniform?” Sakura questioned.
“Are you seriously planning on dressing the same way for your date as you do for missions and sparring and stuff?” Ino asked.
“I… don’t see what’s so bad about it,” he shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Well I do!” Ino spat. “If some guy tried taking me out on a date dressed like that, I’d send him packing!”
“Not all women are as particular as you, Ino,” Neji added.
“The good ones are,” Ino crossed her arms.
“You’ve already messed up once, Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura warned. “Don’t you want to do better this time? She probably won’t give you a third chance.”
“WAIT.” Ino gasped. “Those apology flowers… were those for Y/N?! Sakura, you’ve gotta tell me what happened! What did he do?!”
“He just said he had accidentally hurt Y/N’s feelings. I didn’t know anything about flowers,” Sakura shrugged. “When was this?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Kakashi interjected. “I made a mistake, and I made an effort to correct it, which Y/N accepted. And now she’s agreed to go on a date with me.”
“Wait when did you even ask her?!” Sakura shouted, in a display not at all unlike one of Naruto’s daily outbursts.
“Last night,” he grudgingly answered, “after Ichiraku closed.”
“I knew it!” Ino shouted. “He was in the flower shop yesterday afternoon. You did give those to Y/N, didn’t you?!”
The humiliation of being put on the spot had him tongue-tied, although he likely wouldn’t have given her and answer even if he trusted himself to speak.
“Sensei,” Sakura whined. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this?!”
“I haven’t seen you all day,” Kakashi tightly countered. “When would I have had a chance to say anything to you?”
“That’s not important right now!” Gai boomed, commanding the attention of everyone in the little party. “What we need to focus on now is preparing my old rival here to impress his lovely date!”
Kakashi paled. “Gai—”
“Now now Kakashi, from the sound of it you’ve had a very bumpy start in your attempts to court Y/N,” Gai noted. “You’d better continue to take our advice, rival. Why, without your young kunoichi and myself, you probably wouldn’t have even secured this date!”
The Copy-nin bristled. “I don’t know that I’d go that far—”
“Now, Sakura, what would you suggest your sensei wear to best compliment this dress Y/N has purchased?”
“I don’t know…” Sakura pondered.
“Almost anything is better than what he has on now,” Ino mumbled.
“Ino! Hinata!” Gai shouted. “You two also saw Y/N’s dress. You must have opinions!”
“Oh!” Hinata squeaked. “Um, well, I…”
“First off, he needs a haircut,” Ino declared.
Kakashi choked on his own tongue. “Absolutely not.”
“Your hair is ridiculous, Sensei!” Ino argued, waving her hands haphazardly through the air. “It’s going all over the place! Can’t you just trim it a little or something?”
“I like it the way it is,” Tenten countered.
“Tenten, this is your second warning,” Neji cautioned.
“I didn’t say anything!”
“A trim might not be a bad idea, Sensei,” Sakura agreed.
“I am not cutting my hair,” Kakashi repeated.
“At least go and get it washed by someone who knows what they’re doing!” Ino replied. “What do you normally use, dog shampoo?”
Sakura gasped. “Do you?”
“No, I use regular human soap products,” Kakashi rolled his eye.
“Why do I feel like that was sarcastic?” Tenten asked.
“It wasn’t!”
“Kakashi, I can take you where I go,” Gai offered. “Lee can attest that it is indeed a fine establishment.” Lee beamed his huge smile and gave Kakashi an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
Against his better judgment, Kakashi pictured himself, but with the shiny bowl cut of the taijutsu master and his protégé. The verdict was clear. “Gai,” Kakashi began, “the only way that is happening is if you somehow manage to kill me and drag my dead body there.”
Gai clapped him hard enough on the back for his eye to pop out of its socket. “A wonderful jest, rival!”
“Obviously I’m not talking about you getting that look,” Ino scoffed.
“I don’t need to have someone wash my hair,” Kakashi argued. “I already took care of all that earlier today, so that I would be ready. I’m not entirely clueless, you know.”
“But you want to make the best impression possible, right?” Sakura countered.
“Of course I do,” Kakashi muttered.
“Then seriously, let us help you!” Ino begged. “You literally cannot show up to this date in your shinobi uniform.”
“Actually, does he even own any other clothes?” Tenten asked.
“That’s true,” Sakura nodded. “Except for at the banquet, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear anything other than your uniform.”
“I… don’t have much need for anything else,” Kakashi explained, smiling amicably and rubbing the back of his neck.
“This is worse than I thought,” Ino groaned.
“We’re just going to have to find you something new,” Sakura concluded.
“The three of you would make a horrifying squad,” Neji noted.
“Careful, or you’re next,” Ino growled.
“Come on Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura urged. “If we just look around a bit, I’m sure we’ll find you something perfect.”
Tenten shifted on her feet. “Alright, someone has to ask. Are you going to wear the mask the whole time?”
If he had known the day would take this turn, Kakashi would never have left his house. ”I am,” he confirmed.
“Hold on,” Ino said as she leaned in to peer more closely at Kakashi’s neck. “I don’t understand. Is that thing attached to your shirt?” Ino asked.
“Yes.”
“How??!”
“Wait,” Tenten held up her hands. “Is this why you never wear anything besides your jōnin uniform? Because other clothes don’t have built-in masks?”
“Well, they didn’t just come like this,” Kakashi countered. “I had to have them tailored. But I do have them separately as well.”
“Sensei, you’re a huge dork, aren’t you?” Sakura sighed. “It’s a miracle you got Y/N to agree to go out with you.”
“Wow,” he deadpanned. “Thanks Sakura.”
“Um, I think the two of you make a nice couple,” Hinata muttered.
“Yes! I agree!” Lee shouted.
“Let’s just get on with this,” Ino sighed. “I have a feeling this is going to be difficult.”