Where Hugs Can Get You

Chapter 1

Winning an all-expense paid trip to Suna

She walloped Lee after being engulfed in one of his many heartfelt hugs.

Not because she wasn't used to him hugging her, Lee was very physical after all, even in expressing affection, but at the time he happened to be hugging Sabaku no Gaara as well.

"Lee!" she grabbed him by the arms and shook him. He flopped about like a rag doll in the force of her grasp. "Do. Not. Risk. Diplomatic. Relations. With. Suna. Through. Inappropriate. Hugs."

She turned to the red-haired boy and dipped her head, "So sorry if you were offended, Gaara. Er, Kazekage." She peered up from under her bangs with a puppy dog look that worked well with almost everyone she knew. But the boy's face was blank.

Actually, the following thought process was running through the young Sand leader's mind : Lee almost beat Gaara once. Yet Tenten rattled the Rock about without even exerting herself. HOWEVER, Temari had beaten Tenten easily. Therefore, Temari should be Kazekage? A frown creased his brow.

"Uh oh." Leave it to a sand-nin to be impervious to her charms. Tenten had not felt TOO worried that Gaara would take Lee's overt displays of affection the wrong way, the Kage had saved her team mate's life after all, and she had felt grateful to him ever since. She didn't know him very well, though, and that frown looked foreboding.

"Gaara?" Lee pushed his face close to the Kazekage's, blinking in that owl-like manner he had. Another chummy embrace was imminent and Tenten did not want to be swept into it with them again.

"Okay," the sibling-slash-bodyguard puppetmaster cut in, "I think that's enough for the meet and greet between villages." Kankuro sent what he deemed a reassuring glance to Tenten, but only succeeded in chilling her, "Time for us to go, eh, Gaara?"

"You would be welcome to visit our village, in turn," the world nearly ended as Gaara attempted to smile at Lee and Tenten.

"Huh," Temari commented as Lee could no longer be restrained and Tenten let him lunge happily at the Kage, much like a puppy to a newfound toy, "That's a first."

"One small step for diplomatic relations, one giant leap for Gaara's social skills," Kankuro brushed at the moisture from where his dripping face paint stung his eye.

"It is a sign that the springtime of youth runs strong and true in the noble Kazekage," Gai declared as they ran at a steady pace towards Suna. The younger clone that was Rock Lee enthusiastically agreed, retelling for the nth time how the high honor of a personal invitation by the Kazekage came about.

Tenten lagged at the back of the straight line that Team Gai ran across the desert, trying to sulk but, as usual, too busy running as fast as she could to do so. Gai's punishing pace was sufficient to beat out the sulkiness of any student he ever trained, except the Hyuuga prodigy, who was talented in all things inclusive of sulking while training.

"Keep up, Tenten."

She stuck her tongue out at Neji, who she just knew was smirking. She wished Lee would leave out for once how she had yet again become part of the group hug after he had squeezed the somber sand-nin within an inch of his life.

"Lee!" Tenten's hand twitched for a weapon. "It's very nice of the Kazekage to invite you but I think-"

"I am inviting your entire team, of course," Gaara seemed not a whit inclined to disentangle himself from the gangly green beast of Konoha. Tenten wanted to groan that she was very willing to leave Lee alone in Suna but mustered all her strength to instead reward Gaara with an uncertain smile of her own.

"Oh, I am sorry for leaving you out Tenten!" Lee grabbed her and sandwiched her firmly between himself and Gaara. "YOUTH!"

Tenten had been mortified at how widely Temari could smirk at her.

Tenten went over again her strategy to win against the fan-wielder if ever they should oh-so-casually challenge each other to a rematch during Team Gai's stay. Her explosives were a nice new addition to the mix, and Tenten was also well-versed by now in buried projectile weaponry, which should be less susceptible to wind jutsus. Underneath the underneath, she had once heard Kakashi-sensei tell Gai during yet another of those challenges her teacher kept throwing at the copy-nin. Funny how those things actually came in useful.

"Here we are!" they crested a dune and the village of Suna came into sight. "What a majestic view! The brilliant colors of the sunset create such a wondrous play between light and shadow among the buildings and walls of this paradise of sand!" Gai waxed eloquent. Lee's eyes brimmed tears. Neji took a last swig of water from their canteen.

"Come on," it was Tenten that led the way this time. The sooner this- whatever it was- was over and done with, the better.

Tenten contemplated her navel. Then she flipped back onto her feet and contemplated her opponent, who had knocked her down heels over head with no provocation whatsoever.

"Have we met?" she wasn't Gai, she would remember pissing someone off like this orange-haired girl who seemed intent on murdering her.

"No! But you stole something from me anyway!"

"I've been here an hour. What could I possibly have- hey," Tenten eluded all the girl's attacks easily, taijutsu was Team Gai's middle name after all (Team-Taijutsu-Gai, well, whatever). When the girl resorted to kunai Tenten nearly laughed. So much for the one-hit allowance to appease the foreigners.

"I said," she cut the knife barrage short by moving to appear behind the girl with lightning speed and to pin her solidly against the wall. Another thing she had learned over the years was how to judge if she could subdue the enemy at close range instead of her usual long-ranged attacks. It might have done some good during the first Chuunin exams. "What do you think I stole from you?"

"My life's love," the girl burst into bitter tears.

It was sometimes unfortunate that Tenten was both intuitive and blunt. She often knew what to say to neatly summarize her feelings about an issue or a person, and it was usually less than tactful, but it simplified matters much of the time. For example, she knew the girl hated her, for reasons Tenten could not fathom, and no matter what Tenten said the girl would keep hating her because it had to do with "life's love". So she went ahead and signed her death warrant. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You!" a chorus of female voices yelled. Tenten did not like the tone of their yell.

"Yes, it's her!" the orange-haired girl struggled in her own valiant little way against ogre-Tenten. "The usurper from the Leaf who threatens our future as women!"

It sounded like a female version of Gai, Tenten thought in horror as she began to run.

"Are the women's quarters really that far?" Lee jumped up and down a bit in impatience. "She's taking an awfully long time."

Neji was tired and did not want to waste chakra on searching for a team mate within obviously friendly territory. He'd delivered the Hyuuga clan's message of well-wishes to the Kazekage, and Gai had secluded himself with the young leader to discuss other inter-village matters the Hokage had entrusted with him. He too was looking forward to getting this diplomatic mission over and done with.

A familiar pointy-eared figure in face paint entered the restaurant and caught sight of them.

"Hey," Kankuro said by way of greeting after ambling over, "Where's your girlfriend?" this was directed to Lee.

"My-my-" for once, Lee was speechless. Then he shined, "Ah, well, she has not quite openly returned my feelings and has so far declined my most fervent declarations of love, but I am sure it is but a matter of time. As to her whereabouts at the moment, I believe Sakura is quite happily applying herself with the full flame of youth and vigor to her studies under the capable tutelage of Tsunade-sama." He declared with gusto.

Kankuro blinked. "Sakura. Isn't your team mate's name Tenten?"

"Yes. Tenten is the name of my team mate." Lee nodded, happy as ever.

Neji rolled his eyes. He actually did that a lot but no one noticed since he had no visible irises when the Byakugan was inert.

"But isn't she-"

A figure with her hair done up in trademark buns tumbled into the establishment, out of breath, and twitched at the sight of the boys looking so calm and relaxed at the booth, staring quizically at her. Tenten stormed over.

"Kankuro. San." Tenten decided to add the honorific, it helped her rein in her emotions.

"Just Kankuro," he cat-smiled at her. He watched in amusement and noted that she did indeed have that unconscious finger movement that meant she felt bereft without a weapon in hand. Temari had pointed it out. Tenten was calmer when in battle. In social situations, her fingers sometimes twitched.

"Ok, just Kankuro. The women in your village are crazy," Tenten knew she should have kept the honorific. Here she was destroying the peace Naruto had fought so hard for. She tried to recoup, "Just the girls my age. The old ladies and little girls are fine." Wait, was he snickering?

"Do you know something about what's going on? You'd better spill it right now or-" she threatened but felt the touch of doom as Lee yet again pounced on her with a bone-crushing hug.

"Tenten, you must refrain from insulting our hosts with such language!" he wailed, pulling Kankuro into the fray this time. If it had been uncomfortable in Konoha it was absolute hell in Suna. Tenten was sweaty from running and hiding and the climate was so much hotter and the shinobi she was pressed against was, if possible, even more muscular than Lee from lugging around those dolls of his and this guy seemed to be squirming in a most suspicious manner to ensure full body contact against her slim frame. Tenten struggled with evident futility as Lee clutched them both to him like a mother hen and clucked platitudes of peace and youth as Kankuro gleefully smothered the girl within the folds of his dark outfit.

"So wait, she isn't your girlfriend?" Kankuro clarified while taking the liberty of embracing Tenten as well in a not-quite platonic hug. She was changing colors just like a Suna sunset, and he thought it made her look rather cute.

"Tenten? Of course not," Lee's surprise was unsurprising, "She is like my sister."

"Hah!" peace treaty or not, Tenten would die if she spent another second in the four-arm trap she was stuck in and smacked both guys soundly in the chest to knock them off her.

"Lee. IF you think of me like your sister please take a page out of this guy's book and treat me the same way he treats his own sister, which is with great distance," she gestured a thumb over at Kankuro. "Speaking of crazy Sand kunoichi," she rounded back to the puppeteer and managed to evade Lee's attempt to hug-restrain her this time. "Would you mind telling me why every girl in the village has sworn to kill me for ruining her love life?"

"Do I look like the confidant of every girl in this village?" his too-elaborate shrug was a giveaway. "Maybe if we hugged again though..."

"Ah, how joyous it is to see the shinobi of two different villages getting along so well," Gai entered with a flourish, holding the door open for the Kazekage, who looked un-hassled and unperturbed. Gaara had dealt with Shukaku for fifteen years, an hour with Gai was nothing.

"Sensei," Gai was surprised that the waterworks and starry eyes that besieged him were not from Lee but from his female student. "I'm so glad you're here." Tenten said, maybe for the first time in her life, to Gai. She darted over to his side and tried not to look like she was hiding in his shadow.

"Why, Tenten," he glowed warmly, "It is only fitting that I should be here to share with the youth of this village our message of peace and harmony." And then, the thing Tenten hated the most happened again. A slight "huff!" from a surprised Gaara sounded in her ear as she was mashed against him by strong green arms. With a joyful yelp Lee rushed to join his sensei to make a foursome.

"Eh. Sorry," she apologized to the redhead with a sigh, and resigned herself to the fate of being crushed to death without the help of a sand coffin. He stared back at her with his permanently-shadowed eyes, completely at a loss at this type of interaction.

Tenten was suddenly attacked by a fantasy of the panda-eyed boy wearing her buns. She had strange visions like that sometimes. It was probably not a manifestation of psychic power, but of over-exposure to green jumpsuits. The corners of her mouth twitched upwards and she bent her head to smother a giggle.

Gaara mistook Tenten's shaking shoulders for the opposite emotion and immediately drew her out of the Gai-tandem's grasp, warning them away with a look. Gai and Lee looked on, dumbfounded as Gaara attempted to comfort the girl. "Are you okay... Tenten?"

"Wow, another first." Temari observed, "I think we're on to something, Kankuro." They smirked at each other.

Neji frowned.