I was going to post a drabble for the lunar new year this weekend.. but Team Shira excited me so much omg. Sen and Yome remind me of Kiddy Grade's Eclair and Lumiere somehow.
This is Sen-centric, Shira/Sen/Yome, with a dash of NejiTen, because we can't leave Team Gai out of this. ;)
Naruto and its characters do not belong to me.
We Aren't So Different
There is nothing and everything going on between herself and Shira.
Nothing, because these one-night-stands are just that - flings, that have lasted through their expiry dates and she's lost count (was that the fifteenth time, now?) and she wasn't supposed to count at all because there wasn't supposed to be a second time, or a third.
But they mean everything, because Sen thinks about those lurid encounters every time she's with Yome, and she doesn't know if Yome can smell the leftover scents of Shira, of sex, on her, and it makes her guilty. That they aren't supposed to play favorites on their team, that she isn't supposed to be sleeping with Shira when who she really, really, likes is actually Yome.
Sen is cautious, if nothing, however, so she makes sure to tidy herself and straighten her clothes so well that every bit of minutiae will escape Yome's sharp, sharp eyes.
She feels especially guilty when those other guys from those other teams throw flash bombs in Yome's face, and Yome shrieks and comes running back to her, blinded and so very vulnerable.
Yome trusts her, and who does she sleep with? Their third teammate, of course.
Sometimes, Sen wonders if Yome actually sees it all, but says nothing about it. She wonders if Yome catches the way Shira looks at her on occasion (Shira is virile and strong and when he isn't able to withstand those nagging, haunting bouts of desire, he takes all that Sen is willing to give).
Shira would much rather focus on his training, though, and despite how long they've known each other, Sen doesn't disclose the intensity of her feelings towards Yome.
Yome was supposed to be her little sister, a junior who's skipped two years of the academy with those clever eyes of hers. But love is blind, stupid, and merciless, especially when she looks at those rosy cheeks and sunset eyes, and wonders at how much they've both grown over the years.
There isn't anyone Sen can talk to about this; there are few girls in the academy to start with, Temari has drifted too far from them, and Matsuri, for all her loyalty to Gaara, is not mature enough to dispense opinions of use.
Sometimes, she wishes she could put herself in a genjutsu and forget all this ever happened - but that would mean losing Yome, and Sen can't bear to inflict that upon herself.
Things change when the chuunin exams roll around, and Team Shira finds itself rescued, on multiple occasions, by that one team from Konoha, the very one Shira has cautioned them against.
They are so unbelievably strong that Sen is breathless just from watching them fight. It isn't just the Byakugan-user that they need to watch out for; the weird guy in green is just as formidable as Shira himself, if not more powerful, and the girl with her hair in twin buns brushes off their escape from the damnable sand waterfall like it was as easy as flinging a kunai.
And their teamwork- Team Gai, as they call themselves, executes its moves with perfect synchronicity. Sure, the Suna instructors have taught them the basics of working together, but the trio in Team Gai fights in a perfectly choreographed dance that Sen has never seen in her life.
It's as if they know where their teammates are, and what they're doing, even when they aren't keeping an eye on each other. And they're perfectly willing and ready to defend any one of them who's in danger, like how the girl - high, high in the sky - rains weapons down when White Eyes slows to a stop in his rotation and is on the verge of being attacked, and she, in turn, is defended by the weirdo-in-green, when she has her sights set on opponents far below, and one of the Suna nin springs up behind her.
Sen is positive that they'd lose in a fight against Team Gai. They do not fail to disappoint, even in the main matches of the exam itself.
Take the weapon girl's (her name is Tenten, Sen needs to remember) scrolls away, and she relies on hand-to-hand combat, before pulling more weapons out from god-knows-where. Take the Byakugan user's (he is the Hyuuga clan's prodigy, Hyuuga Neji, she later hears) sight away, and he senses the approach of opponents just as well. And that taijutsu-idiot (as his teammates so fondly call him), Lee - the raw power he releases when his Inner Gates are opened has put even Gaara-sama at a sheer disadvantage.
One doesn't need to ask, to know that the individuals of Team Gai have trained together for a long, long time. They are so very similar to Sen's team, with a taijutsu-only shinobi, that she wonders if Team Gai is what Team Shira is capable of in the long run - those bonds of friendship, and that perfect coordination.
Sen wonders, so she watches them from afar, and sees, perhaps, more than she should.
She glimpses Tenten punching Lee in the head when he makes a stupid comment. She sees Neji patiently putting up with Lee's antics most of the time, incredibly patient for one who leads a person like Lee. She sees the way Tenten and Neji exchange glances that are loaded with words, the way their fingers brush when they walk shoulder-to-shoulder, and Lee charges along the streets, ahead of them.
Sen wonders if Lee ever envies Neji for Tenten's subtle favoritism, and how Tenten deals with balancing romance and friendship in a shinobi world so full of malice. She wonders if Tenten feels bad for liking one of her teammates over the other, like what she, herself, feels for Yome and Shira.
She feels a connection to Tenten, because they both share similar teammates - one who has faced so many odds by being taijutsu-only, and the other with highly precise chakra control and great intellect and eyes that hardly miss a thing.
The girl in question comes walking up to her just a day after the exams, and Sen blinks in surprise, at Tenten's easy smile and relaxed posture.
"Neji says you've been watching us," Tenten explains, waving towards her teammates, who are on the other end of the street.
Lee waves back enthusiastically, and Neji nods.
Tenten waits until they've turned and begun walking away, before speaking to Sen again. "So, what's up?" she asks, chocolate-brown eyes wide, trusting, and beautiful. "It seems that there's something you'd like to talk about."
Sen freezes, blinking quickly. Is she that easily read?
"Come on, let's find somewhere less noisy to chat," Tenten suggests, looking around. "Which is the best dessert place in Suna?"
They find themselves at a tea house that serves cakes and pastries, and Tenten buys them a pot of Suna's best brew.
"You need to take me to the weapons shop later," the Konoha girl confides with a grin. "Neji's going to kill me if he knows I'm out shopping for more weapons."
At the mention of Tenten's maybe-lover, Sen remembers her unanswered questions, and blurts without thinking, "How do you deal with them?"
Tenten raises her eyebrows in confusion.
Sen winces, and explains herself awkwardly, "Your- well, your teammates." She pauses when she realizes that this is probably not the most appropriate way to start a conversation, but the girls in Suna have never been brought up to be proper ladies, anyway. "I'm... sorry. We should've begun with introductions."
"Well, you already know that I'm Tenten," the girl says lightly, sipping from her cup of tea. "And you've met Neji and Lee."
"They don't mind leaving you in the presence of a Suna shinobi?" Sen asks uneasily, spotting the scrolls that never seem to leave Tenten's side.
"I'm armed, you know," Tenten answers amusedly. "Neji's giving us an hour to talk."
Sen looks curiously at her. "He doesn't mind you talking alone with me?"
Tenten tries to stifle a smile, and fails. (Sen thinks she looks kind of cute like that.) "Oh he wanted to come along, all right. I told him that he's best staying out of girl talk," she explains with a grin. "Besides, he'll be able to locate me if he has to."
Sen remembers those pale lilac eyes, and wonders if they're being watched at this very moment. She is also aware that she's very envious of Tenten's ease at mentioning the bond she shares with Hyuuga Neji.
"But really, we do trust Suna shinobi, you know," Tenten informs her, digging into her plate of traditional pastry. "The alliance between Konoha and Suna is strong... and I've also fought Temari before, in the previous chuunin exams."
Tenten winces then, and Sen wonders what memories that brings up.
"Suffice it to say that, next to Temari, you're a lot milder than she is," Tenten finishes off with a grin. Sen doesn't know if she should be offended. She is awed that Tenten is even mentioning Temari so casually, the one kunoichi who didn't bat an eyelid even when Gaara-sama was at his worst.
"I- I see," Sen fumbles, feeling not quite at ease, even when they're on her home territory, and Tenten isn't. "Actually, I wanted to talk about our teams."
Tenten lifts her eyebrows again. "You asked how I deal with mine."
"Yeah." Sen nods, cradling her teacup in her hands. This girl talk thing doesn't feel quite right when she isn't talking to Yome. "You're... very close to your team."
Tenten nods. "We are. Waking up at five in the morning to train every day tends to do that to you," she adds with a wry smile. "We've done that for three straight years, now, rain or shine."
Sen stares at her. It's been just about a year or so since Team Shira was formed, and they train together often, but nowhere close to the frequency that Team Gai has adopted. Next to Tenten, she feels inexperienced, and perhaps inadequate. Even if they're roughly the same age.
"It isn't our teamwork that you want to talk about, though," Tenten observes, studying Sen. "There's more you want to know."
Sen winces, fingers tightening around her teacup.
There isn't really an easy way to put this across, is there? Sen's curiosity gets the better of her, though, and she leans forward, muttering, "I- I know we aren't close, but there aren't many people I can ask about this- How do you deal with love? With regards to your team?"
Her cheeks are faintly hot, and Tenten's eyes widen when she comprehends the question. A similar blush rises on Tenten's cheeks, and she laughs nervously, flustered for the first time.
Sen watches Tenten through her own embarrassment, and feels even more of a connection to the girl than she did before.
"You aren't talking about friendship, are you?" Tenten asks with a smile that's almost a cringe.
Sen shakes her head.
"We're not so very different, you and I," Tenten observes lightly, and Sen is glad that the Konoha kunoichi feels the same way.
"I've seen you and..." She trails off, uncertain if she should mention the Hyuuga's name.
Tenten blushes to the roots of her hair. She grips her teacup tightly and looks away. "W-well, since you've noticed-" Tenten pauses, flicking a glance at Sen, "And since I trust that you won't tell anyone-"
"I promise I won't," Sen whispers, leaning close, feeling as if she's on the verge of making a humongous discovery.
"Well... Neji and I..." Tenten whispers, gulping as she glances about shiftily, "We're very close."
Sen watches her, feeling a touch of envy in her gut. "I wish it were that simple for me and my team," she mutters.
Tenten looks at her with blatant curiosity then, cheeks still flushed. "What do you mean? Are you and Shira-san-"
Sen winces. "Well, it's not that straightforward."
Tenten nods, and draws closer. "I'm all ears," she says quietly. "I won't tell anyone."
Sen stares hard at the carved wooden table between them, her teammates' faces swimming into her mind's eye. "I... like one, but am involved with the other," she says finally, unwilling to disclose names. One can't be too careless, after all.
Tenten winces in sympathy.
"How do you deal with it?" Sen asks, returning to her initial question. "I don't want to jeopardize my team."
It takes Tenten a while to come up with an answer. "It's more straightforward in my case," she admits. "It's always been Neji and I, when Lee and Gai-sensei are off in their own world."
Sen feels another wave of envy. She looks down into her teacup, musing, "It's always been Yome and I, too... But Shira joined us as a team, and... things got kind of messed up."
Tenten reaches over and pats her on the shoulder, and Sen glances up in surprise. "Be true to yourself," Tenten advises earnestly. "I think that's what matters in the end."
She nods, allowing Tenten's words to sink in. Perhaps she and Yome will be closer when she divulges her feelings. Perhaps they could be good together, better than she and Shira-
"So," Tenten whispers, dragging her chair closer to Sen's with a noisy clatter. "I'm curious - how's the sex?"
Sen stares at her, flushing anew. "What?" she yelps.
Tenten sends her a knowing smile. For being embarrassed when her relationship with Hyuuga Neji was discovered, she sure recovers fast. "You wouldn't have such a dilemma if you didn't enjoy it," she continues in that same low tone.
"You should volunteer your answers first," Sen retorts, mortified. She's never talked about sex with anyone, not even Yome.
The grin on Tenten's lips turns sly. "Neji is good. Very good."
Sen gapes, and blinks at the mental image of Tenten tangled with Hyuuga Neji in some bed. She doesn't know if she finds it repulsive - they're both beautiful, and very attractive people.
"Tell you what, give me details, and we can trade tips," Tenten winks. "I've never talked about this with anyone, either."
A nervous swallow later, Sen dips her chin. She can stand to have better sex while trying to figure things out between herself, Yome, and Shira.
They end up talking about steamy details that send them both blushing, and it's exactly an hour after they first met that Hyuuga Neji shows up at their table, an eyebrow raised at their red, grinning faces.
Sen remembers the vivid details that Tenten's revealed about Neji and flushes hard, not quite knowing where she should look. Anywhere but him, that's for sure. The Hyuuga looks curiously at her.
"Tenten," he says, turning away to leave.
Tenten gasps then, and stares at Sen. "We haven't gone weapons shopping," she hisses. "Damn it!"
Neji sends her an exasperated look.
"There's a pretty good shop off the main street," Sen tells her, with a wary glance at Neji. "Turn down the side-street with the dango shop. It's where I got my fans."
Tenten sends her a bright grin. "Thanks." She gets to her feet, and waves at Sen. "We'll keep in touch, yeah?"
Sen watches as Tenten slips her hand into Neji's and leans in close, whispering something to him. He frowns, sighs, and nods once to Sen, before following his teammate out of the tea house.
Completely wound around Tenten's little finger.
Sen smiles to herself, glad to have witnessed that exchange. She hasn't expected to make a new friend from the exams, but with the new insight that Tenten has given her, she thinks she might know what to do with Yome and Shira, after all.
A/N: Not sure if Tenten and Sen hit it off right - that's maybe my first time writing the start of a friendship? (And yes I love the dynamics that are available with Team Shira - am not keen on replicating Sen's situation with Neji, Tenten and Lee - that would just suck. :P)
Anyway, have more Team Shira/Team Gai stuff coming up next week, as a follow-up. ;) Thanks for reading all the way to the end! :P