The instant that the news got out about the teams who had passed, Miki shot Kakashi a rather pleased expression. He simply shook his head, fully aware that she was just as excited over the implications of what the evening would hold as the fact that her team had passed the first stage. When he thought about it, he realized she’d probably never doubted that they would- she had that sort of faith in her genin.

“Yes, yes,” he told her when her expression turned expectant. “I’ll come. Just promise me one thing.”

She cocked her head curiously.

“What?”

“Be careful how much you drink. If you’ve never done it before, I do-”

“I’ll be fine,” she interrupted with a bright smile. “Hayate-nii will be there, after-all. Niisan can just take me home if something goes wrong.”

____________________________

“Sooo,” Miki drawled, scooting her seat closer to Guy’s. “Wanna know something?”

The man in question eyed the sake cup held lightly in her hand, uncertain of how exactly would be a good idea to respond. Across the table, Kurenai snickered, clasping one hand over her mouth to keep from distracting Miki from whatever it was she planned on doing. Asuma’s lips were twisted up in amusement, his gaze flickering between where Miki and Guy sat and where Hayate had his head laying on the table. Hayate’s chest moved up and down slowly, his hand still gripping his cup and his cheeks a faint shade of red.

It would seem the most lightweight drinker out of all of them was Hayate. Miki, it appeared, was the next to lightest weight if the flush of her face was any indication. Well, that and the uncharastically girlish giggles she’d been releasing in response to about anything anyone said to her after a certain point in the night.

“What?” Guy asked after a moment, offering a bright, albeit hesitant, smile.

“I really, really like you,” she continued, gripping him around the shoulders with her free hand and dropping her head on the top of the nearest one.

She grinned when he didn’t push her away and tipped her sake cup back with her free hand so that she could get the last little bit of liquid out of the bottom.

“You d-do?” Guy questioned, his voice cracking as he turned a hopeful look towards his friends.

None of them looked as if they planned on helping him, although next to Asuma, Kakashi had tensed slightly.

“Uh-huh,” she continued cheerfully. “You’re the bestest, best… bestest ever!”

Guy’s face flushed red, not from the sake, but from how close Miki seemed to be as she scooted her chair once again. Helplessly, his expression pleaded for the others to do something.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, attempting to squeeze a hand between them and gently ease her away. “Miki-chan… um… I…”

A heartbroken, almost pouting expression appeared on her face as she slumped down in her chair, releasing her arm from around his shoulder and gripping her cup tightly between her two hands.

“You don’t like me?” she asked. “Why…?”

Helplessly, he put both of his hands up in protest, panic appearing in his expression.

“Of course I like you!” he protested. “You’re a good fri-”

“Yay! I knew you’d feel the same way!” she declared, bouncing up from her seat and landing a peck on his cheek. “You’re my bestest friend ever!”

He froze as laughter roared from the other side of the table. At the same time, she swayed slightly, losing balance and toppling over into Guy’s lap. The sudden motion had sent a wave of dizziness through her, which only made things worse. His face seemed to get brighter as the laughter on the other side of the table grew. Kakashi pushed away from the table and surged to his feet, making his way to where they were and dragging her up.

“Kakashi!” she whined. “Be nicer! You’re too rough!”

If anything, the laughter from their other friends only got stronger. She pulled away from Kakashi and flung her arms around Guy’s back, clinging with a happy expression.

“He’s my bestest friend!” she declared. “You’ve got beat out! Guy’s always super… super nice!”

Kakashi sighed, studying her with an expression that asked what he was going to do with her. Absently, he wondered if being a bit rough towards her when she was only acting this way because of the sake was rude, but then dismissed the idea entirely. Something about this situation just had him irritated.

“I’ll escort her home,” he informed the others, peeling her arms off of Guy who looked like he had no clue what to do about this turn of events. “Hayate’s out of the question… and letting Guy do it…”

He paused, letting the problem answer itself as Miki pouted, turning tearful eyes up towards Kakashi. She slumped against him, ignoring the fact that if he’d chosen not to support her she would have ended up hitting the ground.

“But I wanna give my bestest friend a hug!”

“But Miki,” Kurenai interjected. “If you only hug Guy, Kakashi will feel left out. He’ll get jealous.”

Miki froze, her eyes widening as she tilted her head back to fully look at him.

“Really?”

Kakashi’s visible eye narrowed.

“Kurenai-” he began, cutting off when Miki spun unsteadily pulled away from him and spun around to fling her arms around his torso. His entire figure when stiff as the red-head buried her face in his chest.

“Sorry! Don’t feel left out Kakashi! Even if you’re not the bestest, you’re still special!”

The expression that Kakashi shot Kurenai in that moment was murderous. He easily slipped his hands between Miki and himself before, not so gently, shoving her away. She stumbled backwards, once again somehow managing to land in Guy’s lap. She simply beamed up at the man in question and linked her arms around his neck.

“Guy!”

“K-kakashi!” he sputtered.

Unceremoniously, Kakashi gripped her by the arm and pulled her up again. Miki released Guy, turning that beaming expression in Kakashi’s direction.

“Don’t be jealous!” she informed him. “I’ll kiss your cheek, too!”

Laugher once again roared from the other side of the table. By this point they were drawing attention from all around the bar, amused expressions watching them from every direction. Without hesitation, Kakashi shoved her face away when she started to pull herself up on her tip-toes in an attempt to reach his cheek. A pout appeared as she slumped against him once again.

“You don’t like me anymore?”

He gritted his teeth.

“At the moment, no,” he informed her cooly. “You’re very irritating.”

Tears sparked in her eyes and she pulled away from him, hitting his chest with one hand.

“Meanie!”

Drawing on every ounce of patience he had, Kakashi forced himself to correct his words.

“I don’t dislike you. Come on, I’ll take you home. You want to go home, don’t you?”

Her eyes grew huge.

“Like Icha-Ich-”

“No!” he cut her off, face turning slightly pink.

He’d have to use this opportunity to clean out her bookshelf.

“I’m taking you home so you don’t pass out somewhere,” Kakashi informed her gruffly. “Say goodbye.”

Unsteadily spinning around to face the others, Miki waved her hand excitedly.

“Bye! Kakashi’s taking me home!” she announced. “You can come if yo-”

Keeping a hold of her arm, Kakashi easily dragged her out of the bar.

Outside, he began to wonder if escorting her on his own was a good idea. Miki clung to his arm now, her brow furrowed as she attempted to keep her steps in some semblance of a straight line.

“It’s not fair,” she whined after they’d taken maybe a dozen steps from the bar. “How come I have to go home?”

Kakashi gave her a look that asked why this was even a question.

“You’re drunk.”

“I am not!” she declared, then paused, cocking her head to the side, and stumbling to the side with the movement. “Hey, hey, how do you tell if you’re drunk?”

He searched for the patience that seemed to need to be an endless pool when she was around.

“You act like a rambling idiot.”

Miki’s face lit up with this new discovery.

“Oh! Okay, then I’m definitely not drunk!”

Perhaps it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if she collapsed in the street somewhere. Plenty of people knew the notable red-head- someone would most likely escort her home in his place. At least then he wouldn’t have to deal with her strange, upbeat behavior. Miki was impulsive, but never as impulsive as he’d seen her after the sake had loosened her up.

“No, you’re drunk.”

She blinked, furrowed her brow, then gasped.

“That’s mean!” she declared, shoving herself away from him. “I’m not a rambling idiot!”

Kakashi only sighed and reached out to steady her when she almost tumbled over. She sent him an indignant glare in return and wrenched her arm away, taking a few unsteady steps forward.

“I can take myself home!” she informed him mutinously.

“Really?”

She turned her head to nod.

“Rea-shit!”

Kakashi studied her with a raised brow, not making any indication that he planned on helping her up. Miki, not watching where she was going, had clipped someone’s shoulder and ended up sprawled on the ground in an undignified heap. Her hair, which had long since began escaping her braid, blocked view of the majority of her face- concealing that it had begun to burn a bright shade of scarlet.

“No laughing!”

“I’m not laughing,” he replied calmly. “I am wondering, however, how you plan on getting any further like that.”

Mumbling something far from complimentary under her breath, Miki unsteadily pulled herself up and once again began her hazardous trek down the street. Shoving his hands in his pockets, Kakashi followed her, amusement crossing his once irritated expression.

“Need help?” he asked when she paused, a confused expression crossing her face.

Immediately, that expression became flushed embarrassment and she shook her head, starting forward once again. When she paused for a second time, he barely kept himself from chuckling. Kakashi had to admit, the whining was irritating, as was the clinging, but the helplessness was actually rather.. well, he couldn’t exactly pin down a fitting word for it, but it was amusing in the very least.

“You’re lost.”

“I am not!”

He rose his brow, pulling out a hand to gesture towards the area around them.

“Then please, tell me, which way is your house?”

Miki opened her mouth to respond, then shut it with a scowl.

“I don’t need to tell you, you already know,” she replied firmly, spinning on heel.

The movement unbalanced her and she almost fell, Kakashi stepping forward and catching her with one arm. Then, without a word, he hooked the arm around her waist and easily slung her over his shoulder. Ignoring the instant protest, he started down a connecting street. Her fists began to beat steadily on his back, although by this point there wasn’t really any chance of her getting much force behind the motions, so it was rather easy for him to ignore.

“Down! Put me down! Kakashi, don’t be so mean!”

“Mean?” he echoed.

“Yeah! I can walk, so this is mean!”

Thinking over the responses open to him, Kakashi settled on one that he probably wouldn’t have used if he wasn’t fully aware that she probably wouldn’t remember any of this by the morning. A little teasing wouldn’t hurt.

“Really? I figured you’d like it if I carried you.”

Miki’s mouth resembled that of a fish in that moment. She opened it, then shut it, then opened it again a few times. Her face slowly flushed a deep shade of scarlet at the same time as what he’d said sunk in. After a long moment, she began beating on his back again, her efforts redoubled.

“Baka! Meanie! Jerk!”

“Now, you’re starting to sound like Hikari.”

“Asshole!”

“There we go, that’s less like her.”

For a second, she fell silent, simply fuming over how amused this situations seemed to have made him. Seeming to realize how irritated she’d become, he chuckled quietly under his breath. It was unusual for her to be the one without a good response, seeing as she was the one always unsettling him. Kakashi was surprised to discover how nice it was to be on the opposite side of the situation for once. A second later, though, she suddenly tensed, her hand shooting up to beneath her messy braid and clasping on the base of her neck. A small hiss of pain escaped her lips, all irritation disappearing by the surprise the sudden feeling incurred.

Startled, Kakashi stopped walking.

“Miki?”

When she didn’t respond right off, he glanced up the street, estimating it would only take a couple more minutes to reach her house. Deciding it was the best option, he sped up, easily pulling the door open upon reaching it and letting it fall shut behind him as he sat her down in the hall.

“What happened?”

She shook her head, confusion filling her expression. Yet another emotion he rarely saw her display to this extent. Sure, she was often uncertain about something, but never did the expression have fear or pain mixed into it. The pain had already begun to fade, but the fear hadn’t. She’d already made the connection, even if he hadn’t.

“It just…”

He suddenly noted where her hand was. With a frown, he reached up and tugged it away, using one of his hands to pull her hair out of the way. A sinking feeling filled Kakashi when he realized what she’d been covering.

He’d almost forgotten she had that.

“Miki-”

“It already stopped,” she assured him, a false, cheerful smile in place. “It was probably nothing.”

Before he could say a word, she put her hands between them and pushed him away. Kakashi didn’t protest, simply watched as she unsteadily pulled herself to her feet. Her playful mood had disappeared, the pain having seemed to sober her up somewhat.

“I’ll take it from here,” she continued, keeping that smile in face. “You can go home. I’ll be fine.”

He frowned, standing from the kneeling position he’d been in. Despite her obvious dismissal, he didn’t as much as take a step away from in front of her.

“You can’t just ignore this.”

That carefully constructed smile faltered slightly and for a moment, just a moment, her face betrayed how shaken up she was. Before he could mention it, however, the expression was tucked away and she’d firmly pressed her hands against his chest, pushing him back yet another step while she braced her back against the wall behind her.

“I’m fine. I should probably get to bed. They want us prepared and standing by in the morning, don’t they? If I don’t get to sleep now, I’ll be dead tomorrow.”

Kakashi studied her, a tense silence stretching between them. He finally broke it with a sigh, reaching forward with one hand to brush her hair back in place, covering up the mark that had suddenly driven this wall between them.

“Alright. Be careful and come find me if something happens.”

Then, without another word, he slowly dropped his hand and turned his back to her. She simply watched as he made his way out the door and it fell shut behind him. It wasn’t until that moment that she sank back down to the floor, her back still against the wall. Her hand returned to it’s position between her hair and her neck, a cold fear sweeping through her.

She’d almost forgotten that promise made so many years ago- the fact that she was only being allowed to stay here because he felt like letting her play family. The curse mark was the most obvious reminder, but it’d never done something like this.

Not, at least, since she’d come here. Not since she’d left that place.

Not since she’d last seen those piercing, yellow eyes that now flashed through her memories. Miki squeezed her eyes shut, as if that could force the images out of her head. Things she’d long since attempted to bury and forget. Memories of pain, loneliness, of laughter and fear.

Most of all, memories of the dark before she’d come to Konoha.

The curse mark ached.

A/N: So, this was originally meant to be a lighthearted chapter before all of the drama started! As you can see... it sort of took a turn! Hope you enjoyed anyways xD And if you're confused, I'd advise double-checking the prequel, or checking it out if you've never done that. Or leave things be! It could probably be fun to head into this without knowing about Miki's past, might add a certain... something, I dunno. 

Anyways, see you next time! 

P.S. Comment, vote, etc., you know the drill! I love feedback. x3