"No one can endure when love is in the mix," Anko easily replies. "Field Shinobi have no value if they chose loved ones over the mission and village. It's why Anbu literally conceal their persona from society, always detached, simply so the mission always stays first.
If for some fucked up reason you and Asuma don't work out, at least I can expect to see one hell of a Team Eight for the Chnin exams," she jests with a wide grin.
"I don't need that kind of motivation to create the best team for the exams," Kurenai returns a little more forcefully than she intended.
Kurenai brings her cup to her ruby red lips, unable to shake the image of Hinata-chan's beautiful face breaking from sadness after being told for the second night in a row that they won't be having a session.
The kind-hearted girl tried to be accepting of her sensei's decision but she couldn't hide the abundance of sadness pouring from the girl. The young Hyga was making so much progress, it broke her heart in an entirely different way from Asuma to have to stop.
It made Kurenai eager to find Uzumaki-kun and yell at him for his part in what her dear student is going through. Unable to find the boy only added to her already high levels of agitation.
"Yeah, yeah," Anko says, easily batting away Kurenai's frustrations as nothing more than a girlfriend having a bad day. "I got some reports to finish up. I'll see you tonight."
Kurenai searched for the blue-eyed blond menace for some time before giving up and heading home to ready herself some for the night.
She didn't need her S-Rank level of dress for casual drinks among friends at the usual Jnin only bar, but it's always a bit of a thrill to look sexy enough to catch a man completely off-guard.
Wearing comfortable shorts that showed plenty of leg and a tight red top, she meets the others at Elite Spirits.
It was gratifying spending time with Anko and catching up with Genma, Guy, Ygao, Hayate, and Kakashi. Despite how early in the evening it was, Kurenai had already earned her intoxicated buzz.
That's not to imply she drinks heavily, quite the opposite; she's a very modest drinker, however, her typical strategy when out with Anko was to drink early and taper off for most of the night, so that a usually intoxicated Anko rarely notices.
It also has the extra added bonus of no hangover the following day.
"Kakashi," Kurenai speaks up, taking a seat next to the Copy Ninja, "would you care to explain to me where your student is hiding?"
With her girlfriend's arm wrapped around her neck, it took Anko ages to reach Kurenai's house, all the while listening to Kurenai's tearful apology for her behavior.
"I'm sso sssorry, Anko," Kurenai slurs a remorseful apology. "I let it get under my skin. I let her... ugh-"
"It's okay," Anko kindly returns as she lays the beauty on her couch. "If she wasn't a princess of our country, I'd've kicked that bitch's ass for you."
Looking up at her friend dearly, Kurenai couldn't stop the tears any more than she could stop the smile that spread her sad face. "Thank you! I wanted... I was beside myself with anger!
Not even at her, but, just at everything!"
"That's what rough sex is for, babe," Anko comments, but Kurenai is too in her head to hear it. Worried, Anko's concern compelled her to ask, "do you need me to stay? I can get someone else to torture my prisoner for me."
Pulling out of her thoughts, Kurenai simply shakes her head, "no. No, thank you, Anko. It's inappropriate to shirk your responsibilities. I'll- I'll be fine.
Plus I know how much you love their screams."
"I do," Anko grins. "Okay, I'll check on you tomorrow," she declares before leaving her.
Kurenai stumbles into her kitchen, swaying heavily toward the cabinet. Pilfering through the contents of the top shelf, her hand finally lands on the bottle of sake she stored for occasions such as emergencies or celebrations.
She hugged her sake, taking it with her to the backyard, where Kurenai drank directly from the bottle as she envisioned the princess on one of the target's she has set up thirty yards away.
Launching a kunai, she misses the imaginary forehead for the imaginary ear. She pictured Asuma on another target and missed just as badly.
In between swigs, she imagined many faces; the Hokage, for allowing this, Hiashi, for Hinata-chan's predicament, her mother, for leaving, her father, for dying, Uzumaki, for being content as the vessel for that monster that took her father, Anko, for not torturing the princess, Hinata-chan for being so weak-willed, and clearer than all their faces, herself, for all her failures.
Every face was spared a kunai to the forehead, all except her own, which she shot with deadly accuracy.
"Helloooooo," a loud familiar call sounds from the front of her home. 'Why do I know that voice?' Her mind sluggishly asks as her sloppy feet shuffle to the front door. Halfway there and the person wouldn't stop knocking, irking her enough to yell, "alright! I'm coming!"