It had been a few days of unsuccessful plotting to see their former teacher's face. They tried to following him home and waiting to see if he ever took the mask off; he didn't. They tried enticing him with free food while Sukea waited out in the trees with his camera and without fail every shot was obscured. They were all beginning to suspect there was something along the lines of divine intervention preventing them form their goals.

"You, know… I dunno why Sakura's been so friendly with that Sukea guy. It was nice of him to try and help but he's just some guy!" Naruto said over the sound of the stranger's conversations blaring over the bar.

Sasuke shrugged, "Sakura's always been a little too friendly."

"Easy for you to say. She doesn't try to hurt you at least once a week," Naruto said.

"I think the trick is to not be a jackass on a regular basis," was Sasuke's reply.

"Yeah, whatever. Should we invite Kakashi-sensei to Sakura's party?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know. They don't seem all the close," said Sasuke after taking a long, slow sip of sake.

"But he came to my birthday party! He had a good time too!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke shrugged and said, "Everyone in the village comes to your birthday parties. Sakura is a bit more low-key."

Naruto shrugged and peered over Sasuke to look at the clock on the wall behind him. "Shit, we gotta go. We don't wanna be late."

Ino had taken Sakura out for dinner and drinks which was a genuine surprise for Sakura. She knew the party was waiting for them back home but Ino treating her to her favorite meal and her first legal drink was nice and unexpected. She tried not to drink too much knowing that her friends would be trying to ply her with drinks back home. Still, she left the restaurant tipsy with her even more drunken friend wrapping her arm around her shoulder as they walked to the apartment they shared.

Sakura braced herself for the surprise beyond the door. She turned the now unlocked doorknob slowly, peeking her head inside and then reaching for the light switch. When she flicked it on there was so much noise and color. Party favors going off loudly underscored only by the large group of people shouting "SURPRISE!" in unison.

There were streamers and balloons and party hats. It felt like a child's birthday party except where a banner might normally say "Happy Birthday" the banner hanging over the doorway between the living room and kitchen read "Happy Boozeday". 'Oh, right, because I'm 21 now,' she thought to herself, mentally rolling her eyes. The drinking laws in Konoha were very lax especially for shinobi. By the time they were 16 they could walk into a bar and order themselves a drink if they wanted to. She feigned surprise and went on to say hello to all her guests.

She found Sasuke in the kitchen pouring himself a drink. "What does the birthday girl want to drink?" he asked with a smirk that was almost sincere enough to be a smile. "You wanna make me a gin and tonic?" she asked leaning over the counter, letting her cleavage do most of the talking after having finally found a strapless push up bra that worked with her red strapless dress. Sasuke found it difficult it not take a peek as he fixed her up with a drink.

"Have you seen Sukea at all?" Sakura asked taking a sip of her drink.

"No. Was he supposed to be here?" Sasuke asked suspiciously.

"Well, I invited him… He's a nice guy," she said.

"You invited him to your surprise party?"

She shot Sasuke a look as if to say "Did you really think this was a surprise?" Sasuke smiled and nodded once as if to say, "I understand."

"I haven't seen him," he said, "But the party just started so maybe he's just running a little late."

It wasn't until an hour into the party when the doorbell rang. Ino answered the door even more drunk than she was before, "You must be Sukea! Sakura refused to tell me whether or not you were cute and I can see why… She probably didn't want me to steal you away!"

"Ah, um, thanks…" Sukea said uncomfortably, holding a bottle of wine. Ino stepped aside for him to come in. "Where is she?" he asked

"Hmm… I dunno… But we gotta find her soon we wanna start playing some fun birthday games," Ino replied mischievously.

He nodded and smiled and walked off into the the living room where he found Naruto and Sasuke getting into a heated chip eating competition. They stopped their rivalry briefly to say hello and gave him a cup of sake which Sukea gulped down quickly. It burned his throat but it calmed his nerves a bit.

However, Ino came back to hand him more drinks and introduce him to every single one of their friends at the party. Being a man who didn't drink often he was already beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol. His skin felt hot and his mouth was pulled into a smile almost consistently in a happy haze.

Sukea wandered upstairs and tried a few doors and found one unlocked. He found Sakura sitting on her bed looking at a small framed photo. "Sakura?" he called out after a soft knock. She jumped slightly and then sighed, "Oh Sukea-san… You're late!"

He smiled. "I usually am."

Sakura's face was flushed presumably from the alcohol she consumed. She patted the space on the bed next to her inviting him to take a seat. He did so and spoke.

"What are you doing up here all alone during your birthday party?"

"I was just getting a little overwhelmed down there," she said smiling.

"Hmm… What's that picture you're staring at?" he asked.

"Oh… Its our old team photo… I guess I was just feeling sort of nostalgic," she replied.

"I didn't see him downstairs… It would've been a good opportunity to get him drunk and see if he takes off the mask," he said.

Sakura frowned, "He wouldn't be here even if I invited him."

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

"We were never all that close… He saw himself in Sasuke… And he knew Naruto was special from the start… But I was just kind of there in the background," she said with a shrug.

"I'm sure he doesn't feel that way at all," he said.

Sakura smiled shyly, "What's with all these intrusive questions? I'm the birthday girl so don't I get to ask you one at least?"

Sukea smiled and nodded.

"Why did you retire from ANBU? You're so young and strong… And you'd definitely be making more money."

Sukea sighed, "I had a long series of personal tragedies that the missions one receives in ANBU only help to fuel. So I was given the opportunity to find a better fit and to begin healing." It felt like the first time he hadn't lied to her.

Sakura looked away, "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have asked…"

Sukea laughed, "No, its fine… Hm… How old do you think I am, Sakura?"

"I don't know… 25?" she guessed.

Sukea smiled, "That's correct!" Back at it again with the lies.

"Did you bring wine?" she asked peering over him to the bottle on the ground next to his feet.

"Oh, right! I did! Happy birthday," he said, presenting her with the bottle.

She smiled and got up to dig around a dresser drawer where she unveiled a corkscrew and quickly uncorked the bottle. "After the war I couldn't get to bed without a couple of sleeping pills and a cup of wine," she said shyly to explain the close proximity of the corkscrew to her bed and began drinking straight from the bottle. She handed it back to him and he began drinking from it as well.

"You know, I've always had a soft spot for artists… You probably met Sai downstairs. He's almost intolerable but I've been soft on him ever since I knew he was into drawing… He's still mostly intolerable…" she said

Sukea laughed and passed her the wine, "So… What does that make me then?"

Sakura's face became serious suddenly. She looked at him scrutinizingly. "I don't know…" She took a gulp of wine, "You're kind of mysterious. But not in a dark and brooding kind of way. And you know how to smile and you laugh… You're very kind too. Really handsome… I feel like we've known each other for years." She took another gulp and passed him the wine.

Sukea was starting to look a bit nervous. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Sakura…" he said trying to laugh it off, taking a sip to calm his nerves.

But Sakura's gaze was still intense. He passed her the bottle and she placed it on the end table next to her instead of taking another sip. And without breaking her gaze she inched closer to Sukea. He felt his face grow warmer but he couldn't tell if it was the alcohol or not. Sakura seemed to notice. She began playing with his scarf almost seductively, "Aren't you hot right now? Its been unusually warm this season, hasn't it?" she cooed while slowly untying his scarf.

Sukea's mouth went dry. "I-I wouldn't know…"

She put her legs up on the bed and pulled the two ends of Sukea's scarf moving him closer to her. She started running her hand up his down his chest, unbuttoning has jacket as she moved her hand down.

"I'm not usually like this…" she said speaking in a half whisper, "You're very approachable…"

"Thank you," he said dumbly, not fully understanding the situation at hand.

And then she pulled him down into a kiss. His thoughts were racing and he was beginning to sweat. He felt stiff against her so Sakura began working towards making him enjoy it a bit more. She teased his mouth open and let her tongue find its way in. The overstimulation she was feeling led her to moaning softly into his mouth.

"Sakura…" he said in a voice that was entirely different from his own but altogether still familiar. It was much deeper than his regular speaking voice and the sound of it made the girl beneath him go into a frenzy. She rolled her body against his, arching her back and rubbing her legs on either side of his own as they were spread out beneath him.

"I didn't expect you to be so sexy…" she admitted.

He pulled away from her and looked at her with an unreadable expression.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I can't do this… I should go…" he said while releasing himself from her grip.

"What did I do wrong?" she asked sadly.

"N-nothing! You're…um… You were great. Its just that I… Well, I'm not going to be in Konoha for much longer and… I don't want to lead you on and you're drunk and I don't…" The pair were now sitting upright on the bed. Sukea got up to leave but Sakura grabbed his arm.

"Its okay…" she said softly, rising up to her feet. "I just wanted to have a little fun, thats all… You're not leading me on and I'm not as drunk as you think," she said.

Perhaps he was the drunk one in the room. For suddenly he wasn't staring at Sakura, his former student. Instead this was Sakura, the girl he just started to get to know and a new friend in his life. A new friend with her recently mussed hair and matching pink lips that were still moist from the kiss just moments before. She was still close enough to him where he could feel her body heat and smell her perfume. And for a moment he forgot whose big green eyes those belonged to and something snapped.

He pushed Sakura against the wall to the right of her door and began kissing her furiously. Sakura went limp with lust, her head rolling back against the wall as his lips moved down her neck. "Sakura…" he moaned breathily into the crook of her neck, once again letting his voice slip. "I love the way you say my name," she said, heart pounding in anticipation as she removed his scarf and jacket for him. He was wearing a dark green fitted t-shirt that showed off his exceptional muscles. She could see the ANBU tattoo just peeking out from under the sleeve of the t-shirt. "I've always thought those ANBU tattoos were incredibly sexy," she said, lazily tracing it out with her finger. Sukea smirked, an expression that set Sakura's stomach on fire. "Oh, is that so?" he asked, lifting her up so that her legs were wrapped around him and her back was still against the wall to support her. She gasped, the opening of her mouth tempting Sukea to kiss it again. She broke the kiss briefly, "Oh god, Sukea…"

And then the trance he was in was broken. He snapped back to reality. No longer was he just having some strange out of body experience. Suddenly he was back in his place; he was Kakashi in disguise doing things he shouldn't be doing with the young girl he used to teach and she had no idea. He felt sick to his stomach having deceived her like this. He knew eventually they would all see his face, it was only a matter of time. And this fun little prank wouldn't be a fun little prank anymore.

The door bursted open in that moment.

Ino, Naruto, Sai, Tenten, and a few others who were ready to barge in looking for the birthday girl suddenly stopped in their tracks. "The birthday girl is getting LAID!" Ino shouted in typical drunk Ino fashion.

Sukea quickly grabbed his belongings. "I have to go…" he said and pushed his way through the crowd of people and brusquely left the party.

"What the hell, Ino!?" Sakura yelled. "Hey! If I had known you were doing it in here with some random cutie I would've left you alone for a while! Maybe you should put up one of those 'do not disturb' signs," she retorted.

She pushed her way past the group who had already started dissipating away awkwardly.

But Naruto stopped her as she walked through the kitchen.

"What was that about, Sakura?" he asked in a serious tone.

"What are you talking about?" she asked angrily.

"Hooking up with that guy. We barely know anything about him!" he said in a raised whisper, "And I thought you were dating Sasuke."

"'Dating Sasuke'?" she repeated incredulously.

"You are the only person who thinks that. He hasn't made a move on me since he first got back to Konoha! And it wasn't even a 'move'! He just smiled at me like a normal person over dinner once," she said, beginning to raise her voice.

"You think I want to wait around for someone who doesn't even seem all that interested in me? Well, I'm trying to move on. Or something! I don't know! But its none of your business who I do the things I do with!"

"It is my business when things effect my friends," he said.

"This isn't going to effect him at all. Nothing I do effects him. Its fine, I'm over it," she said, storming out of the kitchen.

The party was quickly coming to an end. Naruto approached Sasuke who was getting one last drink in before going home. "Sasuke, we have to talk," said Naruto. Sasuke gave a slight nod. "If you really want to be with Sakura you're probably going to have to do something about it quick."