A/N: Y'know, I still don't own Naruto, very sadface still.
Unanticipated Storms
Chapter 2
As Tenten and Sakura walked to a nearby café she couldn't believe the feeling of dread that had settled in the pit of her stomach. Her nerves never gave her trouble on missions, she was a professional ninja. A stupid thing like having to pretend Hatake Kakashi was her husband should not be making her this nervous. After rolling the thought around in her head as they walked down the puddle lined street she decided it was just because it was so out of the blue, so unexpected. Yes, that was it, unexpected so it was only natural it was taking her some time to adjust to the idea.
She really had only seen the copy ninja fight on a few occasions, and she doubted he had ever seen her fight with the exception of her embarrassing defeat in her first chunin exams, and doubted he remembered her at all from their brief encounters over the years. The reasons for the Hokage sending them on a mission like this now with no training time together was beyond her comprehension. Maybe they were lacking more shinobi than she realized.
The entire conversation as they walked to the café was one sided. Sakura told her about her next mission, she was off to meet up with a medical nin who had be doing some research into new ways to knit bones that had be sliced with chakra. Tenten genuinely tried to keep up with the medical terminology, but after a few minutes, she just gave up and let Sakura go on explaining the details. Letting her mind wander as she observed the passing street.
The pair of kunoichi strolled into the less than busy café and took a booth after waving at one of the waitresses. The girls frequented the restaurant that was a popular spot with most shinobi and most servers knew them on sight. As they looked over the menus that both knew by heart Tenten's eyes scanned the room, it was much less busy than it would normally be at this time. 6pm was dinner time and the little café was always packed.
"I guess she wasn't lying about there being nobody else in the village"
"huh?" Sakura said her pink head popping up from behind the menu, she glanced around the café. "Yeah, I guess you're right, strange" she shrugged and went back to looking at her menu.
They ordered their drinks, the same as usual after a stressful mission, soda and sake. While they were perusing the menu, the glass door opened again and two more shinobi entered the little restaurant. Two very green clad, very loud shinobi. Tenten groaned and slid down in her seat. She liked her team, she really did. Lee was like a little brother and Gai… well Gai was Gai. They were like her family, but that didn't mean she wanted them to have an udon eating contest while screaming at each other. She was trying to de-stress before going on yet another stressful mission.
She hoped that they had not noticed her and it seemed that her prayers had been answered as they walked further into the café. However her hopes were dashed when Sakura stood up and called them over. Tenten shot her pink-haired friend a look sharper than any kunai.
"What?" Sakura said sweetly when she caught the weapon mistress's look.
Tenten rolled her eyes and pressed the palms of her hands against her face with a groan. "Why me?" she muttered to herself.
"Oh Tenten! How is our youthful flower today?! I did not see you there!" Lee exclaimed excitedly as he plopped down in the seat next to her.
"Hi Lee, Hi Gai-sensei, I'm great, just... great, " she mumbled, too tired to deal with Lee's level of enthusiasm without backup, where was her human glacier when she needed him?
"That is wonderful to hear, Tenten! We have missed you in practice lately! You should come practice with us tomorrow. Gai-sensei has taught me a wonderful new technique"
"Yes, Tenten, join us tomorrow and see Lee's youthful new technique it will surely cheer you up" said Gai, she wondered if he was more observant than she would have originally guessed.
"Sorry guys, I have a mission, I've got to prepare, if it were any other time, I would have loved to." She lied through her teeth.
Training with Lee and Gai was something she did occasionally, but over the past few years she'd either train alone or with Neji . She just couldn't handle walking 300 laps around Konoha on her hands. Or the pushup competitions, after many years it had just gotten to be too much. However, at the moment she would gladly do 400 laps while singing the praises of youthfulness if it go her out of her current mission.
"I am saddened to hear that Tenten, what kind of mission?" Lee asked enthusiastically.
Sakura thankfully interrupted their line of questioning by asking Lee about his new technique, leaving Tenten off the hook, she shot Sakura a thankful look and returned her eyes to her menu. Sakura, who was now realizing exactly what she had gotten herself into in calling Tenten's two teammates over, was trying desparately to talk the two taijitsu experts out of the idea of training with her after dinner. With perfect timing the waitress interrupted the two green spandex wearing shinobi who's conversation was reaching near, painful volume. They ordered the meals without too much trouble, and then they waited.
It had taken years for Tenten to build up an immunity to her cheerfully loud teammate's enthusiasm but tonight all those years of practice were doing her little good, her head hurt, she was hungry and more tired than she wanted to admit. She listened quietly to the banter between her teammates and Sakura's attempts to engage them in actual conversation, but her head kept drooping every so often and her eyes hadn't felt so heavy in years.
Before their drinks got there her forehead was on the table.
Hatake Kakashi strolled down the puddle lined sidewalk with his dark eye trained on his newest Icha-Icha book on his way to get some dinner. Having returned from a mission the day before he was well rested and very pleased at his discovery that a new edition of his favorite book series had been released while he was away from Konoha.
He turned the corner and walked towards a local café that he had become fond of. They had great noodles, and the waitresses wore short skirts and didn't mind if he sat there for hours avoiding doing actual work. Yes, one of his favorite places to eat, he just hoped he didn't run into anyone he knew so he could enjoy his new book.
As he pressed his gloved hand against the door to open it, he instantly regretted his choice in restaurants. The unmistakable voice of Gai, his self proclaimed rival assaulted him before he'd even set foot in the door.
"My Eternal Rival!" roared Gai before the silver haired shinobi could manage to escape unseen. He was just about to form a seal and escape when the door was pulled all the way open and he found himself bodily dragged to a table. He sighed, well, he didn't escape this time but at least he would eat.
His eye scanned the faces at the table, he raised his hand in greeting "Sakura, Lee and …" he glanced at the twin bunned head that was pressed at an odd angle against the table.
"That is my team's youthful flower Tenten, you remember her, she's called the Konoha's Weapon Mistress!" Gai said helpfully.
"She's just back from a long mission" Sakura added, explaining the soft snoring he heard coming from brown-haired weapons mistress.
Kakashi laughed quietly under his mask at the girl's ability to sleep through Lee and Gai, an admirable skill to say the least. He pulled up a chair to the end of the table, opened his book and appeared to start to read despite Gai's best attempts to engage him in conversation or competition, which really were the same thing when it came to Gai. He spent the time waiting for the waitress to come back studying the sleeping girl sitting next to Gai's student.
It took him a few moments to remember why the name Tenten was so familiar, finally it dawned on him as Sakura was talking about upcoming missions that Tenten was the kunoichi with whom he was to go on a mission with this week. He had almost forgotten he had a mission this week, well, at least he knew who she was now, sort of, he had yet to see her face as it was hidden by the edge of the table.
It was only when a steaming bowl of udon appeared in front of her, that Tenten stirred and her mahogany eyes stared listlessly at the bowl of noodles in front of her. She mumbled something under her breath that he couldn't hear and reached for her chop sticks. She dug into her bowl without looking around, nor acknowledging the conversation (and noodles thanks to Lee and Gai) flying around her. She didn't even notice he was there.
Tenten looked up when she was halfway through her bowl at Sakura who seemed to be talking to someone who surprisingly did not respond with a shout in between bites of her chicken dish. Tenten sighed, poured herself a cup of sake and then poured the liquid down her throat before she turned to see who the new arrival was. Through bleary eyes she saw silver hair, a green vest, and a headband that drooped over one eye.
Her brown eyes widened and started coughing, nearly choking on her sake. She sat there for a minute trying to remember how to breathe and when she finally stopped coughing she glanced around at the rest of the occupants at the table, they were all looking at her with expressions that ranged between concern and amusement.
"What?" she asked, looking around.
"Tenten, are you ok?" Gai asked, watching his former student, who simply nodded, groaned and glanced back at the table, as though she were considering hiding underneath it.
Kakashi was having a hard time restraining a laugh as he watched the girl wake up, look at Sakura, then him, and then nearly choke herself to death in surprise. I guess she's read the mission summary the mused to himself. He took stock of the girl who he was supposed to be married to starting tomorrow.
She had brown hair, brown eyes, nothing too spectacular, pretty, but normal. Perfect for a ninja, she could fit in most places, but be easily forgettable. However, right now, her appearance was anything but forgettable. Her dark brown hair which, from what he vaguely remembered was usually tied up in neat knots were coming loose falling out into a frizzy mess, there was a bit of sake running down her chin, and she had a great big crease running across her forehead and part of her cheek from sleeping on the edge of the table, a feat he still wasn't sure how she managed.
"Hi, Tenten-san" he said finally, breaking the silence
She stared at him like he was from another dimension for a moment before responding.
"Uhh uhhmm Hello Kakashi-san" the table fell dead silent again before everyone returned to their meals, feeling the awkwardness emanating from the two new partners.
"So," said Sakura "You two are going on a mission together soon, right?"
"Yes we are, Sakura" Kakashi responded quickly, glancing over at Tenten who's response was a mortified grumble.
"That's great Tenten! You can learn much from Kakashi-sensei! Though Gai-sensei is better, I'm sure you'll come home with many more youthful experiences!" added Lee, Tenten winced at Lee's exuberance but rearranged her face in a smile that didn't touch her eyes.
"I'm sure I will, Lee, I should get home and get prepared then, huh?" she responded in a much cheerier voice than she felt.
"Yes, of course! Its important to be prepared!!" Lee responded as he turned back to his meal.
Tenten scarfed down the rest of her meal and downed her sake in record time, anything to get out of there faster. She could not believe she'd made such a fool of herself. There was no reason to be akward or stupid about this. Kakashi was Sakura's sensei, she'd heard all about him and while he was a pervert, he was a good ninja and he would be a professional, right?
She somehow didn't believe herself even as the thoughts formed. Yeah right, Tenten, you moron, this just means you have to get the mission accomplished quickly before he gets any bright ideas.
They were staring at her again, she realized she had just chugged an entire bottle of sake, she gently set it back down on the table, empty as it was, and smiled sheepishly.
"Well, I'll talk to you all tomorrow, ja!" she said, before dropping some cash on the table and climbing over the back of the booth to get out and avoid making anyone move, or getting any closer to Kakashi.
The rest of the table stared after her as she went, not quite sure what to make of her spectacular exit. Kakashi wondered why he of all people was paired with an apparently narcoleptic, alcoholic, weapon loving psycho. This mission was either going to be horrible or the most fun he'd had in a long time.
