You sighed as you brushed the strands of hair away from your face. You were supposed to get it cut the other day, but the Hokage had suddenly assigned you and your squad on a mission in Kiri.
Having the only all-male team in your village was a hassle at times. Ken'ichi, Yūto, and Daichi were quite the trio. In fact, it was Ken'ichi that ultimately made you realize you were getting your hair cut today.
Ken'ichi wasn't the brightest child, but he made up for it in strength. He was incredible when it came to the physical aspect of battling, and his opponent almost always ended up being thrown around like a rag doll. On your recent mission, Ken'ichi had grabbed a tree branch and ended up dragging you along with him by the hair. To say he was yelled at would be the understatement of the century.
⠀
So, here you were, in Kurenai's house, having her cut your hair. You didn't know of any places that cut hair in Konoha, and Kurenai was a friend of yours that had relatively longer hair than any other Jōnin you knew, so you thought, why not?
"It's been quite a while since you cut your hair, Y/N," she said with a slight smile on her face. "I'm not even sure if Mirai was alive the last time this mane was cut."
"Oh, hush," you laughed. "It hasn't been that long, and it's certainly not a mane."
"So, what drove you to cut it this time? Finally decided to revive the 'get Kakashi to notice me' mission?" She teased.
The last time you cut your hair, it had been an effort to get Kakashi, a fellow Jōnin with a squad of his own, the members of that squad just 2 years older than the members of your team. The effort had been pointless, as he simply failed to notice. Which kind of bummed you out since you had quite a crush on him.
"Actually, it was one of my students," you groaned at the memory. "Ken'ichi, the strong kid. He managed to drag me by the hair when he was weaponizing a tree branch."
"A tree branch? He's only 15, no?" She asked, a shocked expression on her face.
You nodded. "I know... Ken'ichi's taller than me already, too. I've seen his father; he's practically a giant. I have no doubt he'll be the same."
It wasn't long before Kurenai finished touching up your hair, lowering her scissors. "There you are, Y/N. Go get your man."
"Oh, my god. I told you I'm over him!" You glared at her.
She smirked. "And I told you I don't believe that for a second."
You groaned, knowing she was right.
You'd never admit that out loud, though.
⠀
While walking down the street, you realized that your head definitely felt lighter. Although it wasn't long before you heard your name being called.
"Y/N-sensei! Y/N-sensei!"
When you turned, you immediately recognized the blonde hair that was Naruto's. "Hey," you greeted him with a smile. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
He suddenly had a blank expression on his face. "Hm... Sakura told me to come to find you, but I can't remember why."
You chuckled. "That's alright. Just take me to Sakura. I'm sure she'll explain if I ask her to."
⠀
On the way to locating Sakura, Naruto rambled about how he was happy that Sasuke was back in the village again. You nodded, glad that he had returned as well. Your students wanted to be members of the Sasuke recovery team, you remembered. However, you had told them that they had only just made Chūnin and that it was too dangerous. You were likely right, but you made sure you told them it was honourable that they wanted to help.
⠀
Soon enough, the pink hair of Sakura's came into view. She was with Kakashi, although Sasuke was nowhere in sight. When you asked, Sakura had told you that he hadn't wanted to leave his house that day. You understood; the poor boy had been through a lot.
Sakura ran over to Naruto, grabbing his arm and leading him away. Before they left, she called out "nice hair!" but didn't say any more than that. You thanked her, chuckling as they ran away.
"Ah, kids..." You smiled, not really noticing Kakashi's flustered state. "She's at that age where she's definitely thinking of love."
"Ah... she's been at that age since I started training her."
You then realized that Kakashi, the Kakashi Hatake, was blushing. "Is something the matter?" You asked, tilting your head in confusion.
"Did you do something different with your hair?" He then turned away, his blush somehow getting stronger.
You smiled once again. "Yeah, actually! Kurenai cut it for me earlier. She's so sweet. Well, when she wants to be."
He nodded in agreement. "Yeah... about your hair. Um... I like it."
"You like my hair? Kakashi, are you flirting with me? Never would I have guessed you to be this bold. It's a nice change. Keep it up."
He scratched the back of his head, gesturing in front of him. "This is... kind of awkward with us alone, don't you think? You know... just the two of us?"
You shrugged. "Kind of. But maybe that's because we're standing at the edge of the forest. Let's move away from this place before we get eaten or something."
The two of you began to walk, and you noticed Kakashi looking at you more than once. You smiled, liking the attention you were receiving. So much, in fact, that you had lost all common sense and said the one thing you had never wanted to admit.
Your feelings for Kakashi.
"You know, we'd make such a cute couple."
He stopped. "Wh-what?" His blush had come back to a pure red once again, and it reminded you quite a bit of Sakura's dress. Although, you knew that you weren't much better off, as you could feel your face burning.
"I... um... I know you don't return my feelings, so just... forget I ever said that" you laughed. "I should probably get going. It was nice talking to you. I'll see you soon, probably."
But before you could get very far, Kakashi grabbed you by the wrist.
"I think we'd make a cute couple, too."
