Through the eyes of an animal

Chapter 3: The hours where you get hurt, comforted and surprised

"Up for a blind date?"

You spat out the sip of your cold sake at Anko's words. "What?" you coughed, "What do you want?"

The purple-haired woman grinned full of glee. "I asked, missus cat lady, if you were up for a blind date. Remember? To cheer you up, to let you forget about your longtime crush on a certain scarecrow?"

"Oh. Yeah... That..."

Kurenai giggled. Her cheeks were flushed from the alcohol and she had to lean on Asuma, who had his head lowered to the table to cool off his also heated skin on the colder wood. "Don't ya leave her hangin', 'kay? He's suuuuuuch a sweetheart!" Her words were slurred and once more she giggled, what caused you also to smile a bit. "I saw 'im and he's quite a loo-ker. Promise ya go (Y/N). Promise!"

The night out with your friends had started like any other time. You had left a window open for Rascal, even though the cat stared at one of your historical romances which you left on your bed with clear interest (and you were sure you would find him and the book somehow hurdled up in the bed and the cat trying to turn the pages with his soft paws). Dressing up wasn't your thing, so you had just left your chunin vest at home and replaced it with a regular hoodie. Otherwise you were dressed like always, the same regular ninja pants and sandals, not even some accessory. The night was fresh, but inside the bar it was almost unbearable warm, filled with other ninjas who searched for a good time with friends or some nice buzzed hours or also a good lay in their reigns.

The barkeeper knew your group and like this he had kept your usual table unoccupied. The first and second round of drinks were quickly gone and Iruka, who was a lightweight already started to nod off. By now he was sitting in the corner of the booth, drool spilling out of the corners of his mouth and head hanging low, mumbling from time to time something in his sleep. Gently you reached over and wiped with a napkin the spittle away before turning again to Anko, who seemed pretty sober for someone who downed three vodka shots like they were water. Only her eyes were sparkling in another glim than usual, but that didn't stop the crazy woman from ordering another drink whenever her glass was empty. (Her glass was nearly constantly drained.)

"So?" she asked while raising the clear liquid to her lips once more, "Interested in some fun?"

"How do you would describe your definition of fun?"

"I don't know (Y/N). Maybe you should spell out your definition for me."

"..." Grimacing you lowered your own drink to the table. You had wanted to buy time with that question, but unluckily your friend saw right through you. Usually Anko would've jumped at the opportunity to say something dirty, though she returned instantly a question back at you.

Anko laughed when she saw your expression. "I knew it! No honestly," she leaned closer, "You want to get Hatake out of your head? I found the perfect candidate for that."

You sighed out. "I really appreciate your efforts, but-!"

"He's an ordinary chunin, but nice. Good-looking too. He loves animals, books, takes walks in the park..." She wrinkled her nose. "I mean, when I think about it, he sounds so fucking plain..."

"Plain is good," you answered without thinking much, "Plain is totally fine with me. Good, I will go to your blind date. Can't let your efforts go to waste, right?"

"Yeah! That's the spirit!" Kurenai only followed half of the conversation, the other half had been spend with stroking softly over Asuma's gruff beard, but when she perked up, the brunette was instantly hyped. "Can I dress you up? Please, let me do it!"

"Thanks for the offer, but I don't want to..." Scare the poor guy? Impress him? What was the right term to use to nicely decline Kurenai's offer? "I don't want to look like a try-hard, you know? Your choices in clothing are great but," you breathed in as you saw the crestfallen look in her eyes, "it's kind of not... me."