It was Unintentional

CH-3

"Kurenai-sensei?" Naruto said, trying to get her attention. The woman in question blushed lightly when she realized she'd been staring, not only that but she'd been mentally appreciating his looks and personality.

"Sorry, Naruto. What were you saying?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the Genjutsu Mistress, it wasn't usually like her to randomly space out, or to gawk at him while doing so, but he decided to let it slide. Naruto just waved off her apology and took this chance to get off Sakura and onto a somewhat more upbeat topic when the waiter came back with their drinks and food.

"So how's my genjutsu coming along? I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of it a little better but it doesn't really feel like I'll ever very good at it." He said, changing the subject abruptly.

Kurenai looked thoughtful before responding, "Well, you're not really well suited to genjutsu to begin with. Your chakra control has gotten better since your genin days but you still have too much of it to control it as precisely as a Hyūga or a medic-nin which makes using genjutsu difficult."

Naruto nodded in agreement, if this were several years ago he would have taken offence and started shouting, mistaking the honest truth as an insult or belittlement, but he'd come to terms that with his massive reserves of chakra and lack of control thereof, for him casting a genjutsu was like trying to sign his name on a postage stamp with a paintbrush. He could only succeed in basic D-rank techniques once in a blue moon, and that was only when practising with a partner, for Naruto using genjutsu in live combat would be out of the question.

"On the plus side, your partnership with the Kyūbi makes you completely immune to all genjutsu attacks, even high level ones like Tsukuyomi." Kurenai continued.

Naruto once more nodded his agreement, not that having an immunity to Tsukuyomi really mattered, it was exclusive to the Mangekyō Shaingan and the only man left alive that even had a Sharingan was incapable of performing that technique anyway, not that Kakashi would be too keen on using it against his student in the first place, even if it were for training purposes. Still, it did help when you have a partner inside your own body that could effortlessly dispel any and all illusions before Naruto would even notice he'd been caught in one.

"But I think with a bit of hard work you should be able to get your skill in genjutsu to a level where you can qualify for full jōnin." Kurenai finished with a warm smile that Naruto couldn't help but return.

The two continued on to more light-hearted topics and eventually they were exchanging jokes and even laughing at some embarrassing situations they shared from time to time.

A little over an hour later, Naruto and Kurenai were nearing the latter's apartment arm-in-arm and still thoroughly enjoying each others' company. Naruto didn't much care what Kurenai's original motives were when she offered to spend time with him earlier in the day, he was just glad he ended up accepting. When they reached her door the laughter died down awkwardly as Naruto wasn't sure what to say, mostly because he still didn't know whether or not this was an actual date. Thankfully Kurenai was the first to break the silence.

"Congratulations again on your promotion to Tokubetsu Jōnin, Naruto." She said with a smile.

Naruto felt relieved that he finally had a definitive answer, but at the same time he was a little disappointed. He wouldn't have minded if it were an actual date, in fact he almost found himself wishing it were. But then again what really constitutes a date? It was just the two of them, they talked, they hung out, the both had a good time, that was pretty much the point of a date after all. Or was it only considered a date if they came to a mutual and verbal agreement that that's what it was?

"Thanks," He said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "I don't have another mission for a few days, you want to meet at the usual time tomorrow morning?"

"Sure."

Naruto nodded and turned to walk away when he heard his name. He turned to see Kurenai moving toward him with the intent to give him a kiss on the cheek, only to miss and have their lips meet each other instead.

The crimson-eyed woman pulled away after less than a second and took a few steps back to put some distance between them.

"S-Sorry." She fumbled the word, clearly a bit startled by the unintentional kiss.

If the look on the blond's face was any indication he was also quite startled by it, but she saw something in his eyes, something that told her he enjoyed it regardless. As if to reinforce her suspicions, Naruto took several tentative steps forward, closing the distance she created and then some.

"Naruto...?" She questioned nervously.

Naruto ignored the question as he stopped just inches away and slowly leaned toward Kurenai, mentally cheering when she didn't back away, push him away, or hit him. Naruto stopped with their lips just centimetres apart, looking into her eyes as if asking for permission, then down to her pink lips before closing the distance and kissing her proper.

Kurenai's eyes went wide with the contact, she knew what was coming when Naruto started closing the distance, but at the same time she really wasn't expecting him to actually follow through with it. After a second or two she closed her eyes and began to return the kiss, putting her arms around Naruto's neck as he wrapped his around her waist, pulling her body against his. The kiss lasted several seconds, or minutes, possibly hours, Naruto wasn't really sure, he was just enjoying the feeling of her soft lips on his. It was passionate, yet innocent at the same time, inexperienced as Naruto was in this particular field he knew that tongue would be inappropriate for the situation.

The purple-haired off-duty ANBU standing just around the corner that came to return Kurenai's offspring from babysitting so she could go out with Naruto went unnoticed by the duo as she watched the saliva exchange with a grin.

Finally after an indeterminate amount of time the pair separated due to their mutual need for oxygen.

Naruto looked away shyly and scratched his whisker marks out of nervous habit.

"That was... Nice..." He said awkwardly, unsure of what was the proper thing to say in this situation, if anything at all.

Kurenai's cheeks took on a light pink colouration when she realized what she'd just done, with one of her students no less. But she found herself unconsciously nodding her assent. Naruto cleared his throat to get her attention.

"So, usual time and place tomorrow morning?" He asked again.

"Uh, y-yeah. I'll... uhh... I'll see you there."

"Well, see you tomorrow then, Kurenai-chan." Naruto smiled, changing his form of address without realizing it and turning on his heel to leave.

Naruto would swear on his deathbed that he heard someone else say 'Nice work, kid', but try as he might, when he looked around there wasn't another soul in the hallway aside from himself and Kurenai.