Gin hadn't worn a yukata in quite some time. Infact, she couldn't remember the lat event where she had been required to wear one. Had it been the Namahage Festival? Possibly. Maybe it had been at some kind of formal meeting. In any case, the idea was the same. She rarely wore these things, especially when they weren't modified to show a great deal of cleavage or something of that sort. The one she was wearing now was the kind that she would usually consider unflattering.

The cloth was a pale shade of pink, much like the color of cherry blossoms in the spring. The pattern on it was of white koi fish swimming in circles around themselves. The obi the tied the piecce together was a light shade of blue that actually complemented the outfit quite well. Her hair was tied back, into a loose bun. Truth be told, the whole ordeal made her feel awkward. The outfit was a little bit too... girly. It made her feel like a teenager. Hell, she was almost sure that she never dressed this way back in her teens. She sighed, looking at herself in the mirror once gain.

It couldn't be helped. This was the only outfit that she had managed to get with such short notice and pretty much the only one that fit her out of the ten stores that she had visited that day. There was no time to make the modifications that she wanted to make - cut a little bit of cloth here and there to make it suit her curvy figure. The young woman grabbed her purse and left through the door of the hotel room. Her wooden sandals clicked as she walked down the hall.

Holding a purse felt odd. She was far more comfortable with a weapon in her hands. Why was she doing this again?

Sanosuke said that she owed him for all the favors and money he had lent her in the past few months. Great. Now she had to go out on the streets and lose whatever remained of her dignity. Well, she supposed that there were worse things in life. Nothing came to mind at the moment, but she was sure they existed. All that was left to do was go to the meeting place - the entrance of the festival grounds - and wait for him.

Gin stood at the entrance, where people were walking in and out of the place with different assortments of foods in hand. Some walked away with prizes and other goods. It was a nice environment, truth be told. The setting sun made it look even better.

Putting on a black blazer, Sanosuke looked at himself from the mirror of the rental estate that he was staying at for the duration of the Chuunin Exams. As the Raikage, he was to be as a representative for Kumogakure. And so he was given a 5 star condo for him to rest in for the duration of the exam. It was all ready furnished and everything, so Sanosuke had to just pack his clothes and be done with it. His light buttoned shirt was worn with a black blazer over it with was finely tailor and something that he would only wear for the most important of occasions. It was made with a very soft and silky material that isn't distributed to public. Perks of being a traveler right? His hair was combed back, and was wearing cargo color ironed slacks with dress shoes on as well. With shaved face and cologne on his neck and torso, Sanosuke felt that he was ready for the festival. Sanosuke asked for Navi to stay in the house while he goes to the festival with Gin. The wasp eyed him suspiciously while teasing him with Sanosuke having feelings for the woman. Of course he shot them down and went on anyways to the festival.

There was one question that was scratching at the very base of his mind. What was the reason that he got himself dressed up and also why of all people in the world he chose to take to a fireworks festival, it was Gin? Oh yeah that was right. After all the cash that Sanosuke had lent the woman, he thought that it might be time for some payback. So he demanded that she would come with him to the fireworks festival dressed up properly for the occasion. Which mean yukata, wooden shoes and absolutey no weapons to be brought to the festival at all. Also she had to dress very ladylike as well. He knew full well that Gin hated the notion of being dressed like a doll at the beckoning call of a man. She'd probably go crazy wearing such an outfit, that is if she can pull it off without looking completely awkward. Just her expressions alone looking out of place will be enough to have some dirt on her for the longest of time.

Sunlight was slowly dying when he had finally reached the entrance of the festival grounds. Walking alongside the other civilians and spectators of the festival grounds, none of them had realized that they were walking alongside one of the strongest political figures in the shinobi world. He got a few looks from people that were beginning to recognize him, but they were simply just looks and nothing more. Now it was time to find Gin, and spot her from the others near the entrance. Just thinking about what Gin's reaction to seeing Gin looking girly and not at all like a warrior, had the Raikage chuckling to himself.

But that's when his eyes laid themselves on her.

Standing on near the entrance of the gate wearing a pink yukata and her hair tied up in a bun was the very woman that Sanosuke had agreed to meet for the fireworks festival. But he couldn't get himself to believe it was her. There's no way that could be Gin...could it? She was wearing a purse, and Gin wouldn't be caught dead in a purse instead of a weapon. And yet here she was right before Sanosuke. For a while Sanosuke just stared at her like a deer in the headlights, completely enthralled with his new found beauty of Gin's that was just only noticeable now while she wore this outfit.

Before Gin could catch on to his gazing, Sanosuke shook his head to get himself ready to approach her. "Who would've thought that the day would come where Gin Kuroka would be seen wearing a kukata." Sanosuke said jokingly while letting a few chuckles here and there to not let Gin get any of the wiser of his gazing. Offering an arm to the woman to take, Sanosuke smirked. "Well shall we?"

Gin's eyes locked with Sanosuke's. After a few seconds, she instantly looked away, a blush and a scowl on her face once she remembered that it was his fault that she had had to dress this way. She didn't want to admit it, but she knew deep down that he looked handsome. She subconsciously wondered if it was for her sake that he had gone out of his way to look like this. If so, she didn't quite know how to feel about the subject - hence the light blush over her cheeks.

His finely tailored blazer, her oddly flattering kimono - none of it fit. They weren't like this, they weren't civilians. They were shinobi of the strongest caliber. For them to be out there like everyone else, enjoying themselves... It all seemed so strange. Among the crowds of people, they seemed like just another couple enjoying the festivities, nothing special about them. They were just a man and a woman meeting each other.

At his jab, Gin's eyes narrowed as she looked at Sanosuke once again. "And who, per se, should I blame for that?" she mumbled bitterly. "As much as I hate it, I don't go back on my word. So yeah, I'm wearing a fucking pink yukata. This is never happening again," she said. Her resentment towards the situation was more than evident. Nevertheless, she took Sanosuke's offer and linked arms with him. She could just sense the paparazzi being magnetically attracted to the scene. Then again, maybe she was just being paranoid.

"So what is it that you have planned for the evening?"

Sanosuked raised his hands defensively when Gin began barking at him in protest of wearing the kimono. "You look beautiful, really. Almost didn't recognize you." Sanosuke said to the woman between chuckles to hopefully get her to calm down. Seeing Gin squirm this much at how uncomfortable she was wearing her kimono was something that Sanosuke did give some thought. They were shinobi and it did feel weird to be on the outside looking in at what they were fighting for. The life of a civilian huh? Who would've thought it would be so unsettling after always carrying his swords or at least a piece of armor on him. It made him feel naked and honestly unprotected. If he was beginning to feel that way, then Gin was probably having it worst off than him. That could be told by the annoyance in her voice at his jab. Maybe he should be nice to her, after all she was still stupidly stronger than him. One wrong comment can send him through several venues. Best way to end a date right? Not with a bang, but with several forms of property damage that a certain dreadlock haired Raikage would have no choice but to fill out. Super.

Once she took his arm, Sanosuke looked at Gin and smiled at her as he began leading her into the festival. "Well we can see the sights around the festival and see what things are going on. Then get something to eat on our own picnic." Sanosuke said rather proud of what he planned for the two of them. Not too shabby for something he came up with on the fly. He might just have to pat himself on the back.

Beautiful, now that was a first. Sanosuke had never really called her that, and if he had, they had both been drunk out of their minds. She eyed the man in front of her carefully. "If I believed you, I would pay you back with a compliment of my own," she said offhandedly as they began to walk towards no direction in particular. It was a nice scenery, with the sun setting in the background and people dressed in all kind of festive ways. Small food shops lined the road, game booths and an impromptu haunted house further away. People of all ages were laughing, enjoying themselves and taking a break from the Exams, in some cases. She wondered if she would run into any of her students.

"A picnic? My, you're original," she teased him. Truth be told, she had never really been on one of those. Stuff like that usually seemed out of character, out of her hands, even. She was more of the type to spend her time getting as drunk as she possibly could or engaging in other types of debauchery. That was maybe why she felt so uncomfortable - she was vulnerable in situations like this. She was just another woman drifting aimlessly through the crowds, arms linked with just another man. Talk about disconcerting. Nevertheless, she hid her discomfort, appearing calm and composed as always. "Oh look! They're selling shaved ice over there!" she said excitedly. Well, so much for composure.

"Jeez will you take the compliment and stop being so bashful?" Sanosuke joked as they walked through the crowd of people. Each of the lights were the stands and different boutiques that were attempting to get patrons to visit them to sell. Some of the stands and vendors had a large crowd of people gathering around them, while others stands had only a few customers. Either way, all of them looked very interesting and had different things to offer for the festival. To his left there was a man that was a man whom was pulling off magic tricks. They weren't magic at all. Just from the sensations of the chakra he was feeling in the environment, he was unintentionally using chakra for his tricks. Nothing special at all. To his right there was a woman whom was giving out free fortunes. What would the two of them do was the question.

"Oh look! They're selling shaved ice over there!"

Looking at Gin whom was now pushing her body closer to his arm to get his attention, Sanosuke looked in that direction as well to the vendor that was selling the shaved ice. A raised eyebrow was all that he gave to the silver haired woman along with a stifled chuckle to stop himself from laughing out loud at Gin's outburst. He led her through the crowd until they got to the vendor. The woman running the stand looked at them and smiled. "Can I get one flavor lemon. And for my date, strawberry." Sanosuke requested. When he gave the woman the money, it only took a few minutes for the ice to be ready. With forks in each of the shaved ice, Sanosuke gave Gin hers and got ready to have his own. "If I remember right, strawberry is your favorite right?"

"That was a lucky guess," Gin said as she happily received the shaved ice. She ditched the fork in favor of simply munching on the ice itself from the oddly shaped plastic cup. Before doing so, however, she poured a decent amount of condensed milk on hers. "This is really good," she mumbled between bites. "I haven't had one of these since I was a kid," she began. The setting brought fond memories to mind. It was, in a way, bittersweet. Part of her longed for those simpler days to be back. But if asked to repeat it all, there wasn't a single thing that she would do differently, despite all the mistakes that she had made. They had all led her here.

"This festival troupe came to Suna one time. The orphanage took us there on a field trip. Sake and I got into all kinds of trouble, running all over the place. I must've been around eleven at the time. I remember he gave me all the money he had saved so I could by myself one of these," she said. She had told Sano stories about her childhood before. He knew well that she had, at one point, been engaged to Sake, who had died only a few months before the wedding. He knew that she had lost their unborn child almost immediately after finding out.

Gin could trust him. She knew she could, even though she would never really tell him that he was the only person that she could really tell everything and anything to. They were best friends, after all - even before they began to have feelings for each other. Their relationship was uneasy, yes. They often pretended to dislike each other and bickered constantly. But in the end, they would do anything to see the other smile.

Milk huh? That was a new one. Then again that would make the shaved ice have more flavor and taste more creamy than just raw ice. "Really? They had these things all the time in Kumo."Sanosuke couldn't help but smile at Gin as she began eating her portion. In all honesty she looked just like a normal woman enjoying herself on a date. She was even talking about her childhood. Normally they would have meaningful conversations with each other after a night of drinking and they were not in the right mindset to share this with each other. But having her speak like this while she was completely 100% sober was nice. It was as though behind the rough and tough exterior that was Gin Kuroka, there was just a woman living her life just like everyone else. He knew how much Sake meant to her, so Sanosuke decided to let her marvel in the past a bit. She always had an unfortunate run of luck in the past, so just watching her smile geninunely was enough of a reward for Sanosuke honestly.

Playfully, Sanosuke moved his spoon quickly into Gin's serving cup to have a bit of her shaved ice. Flavor of cream and sweet rushed into his mouth with that one bite, now that was some good ice. He knew that Gin would throw a fit, so the second she would open her mouth Sanosuke would gently feed her the rest of his ice in that one spoonful. "Hey look, it's an carnival game!" Sanosuke pointed out the vendor that had the game and directed Gin towards it. The man instructed to them what the whole point of the game was. It was to simply use nothing but a rod that had a ring attatched to it by a string and use only that to lift a bottle straight up from a slanted platform. Doing it once successfully was enough to earn a giant teddy bear as a prize. A small stuffed animal is given for just trying."Here I'll get one for you easy." Sanosuke smirked as he paid the man 100 ryo for the fee to do it once.

GAMEOVER!

Sanosuke's eye twitched. The hell it was. The game just started. He wasn't going to back down just yet. The idea of caving and just getting a small toy as a consolation prize was just demeaning. Giving the man another 100 ryo, Sanosuke committed to try again. This game was harder than he thought, but he was dead set in getting that giant teddy bear for Gin.

GAMEOVER!

Before he knew it, Sanosuke had already done the same game 60 times in an attempt to get the carnival toy without any luck. A tick mark was pulsing on the side of his forehead as he was breathing deeply to calm himself down. It was just a game...just a stupid little game. That he can't win. And he knew Gin would give him shit for it too.