Chapter Six: I'd club that*
Kankuro walked to the training grounds as if walking to his doom. The whole morning was spent in melancholy silence as the puppet wheeler thought about how everything was going to play out. He sported his normal attire and brought a puppet almost out of habit with him. He figured he could blow off some steam after their last session. To his surprise, Tenten was already there, talking to Baki and Gaara. He placed his puppet on the sideline and waited politely for them to finish. Tenten had her arms folded across her chest and looked very neutral in contemplation. She nodded taking a scroll from Baki. Gaara had that smirk on his face as he and Baki left the grounds. Kankuro gave him a questioning look but Gaara only left in silence.
Kankuro walked up to Tenten who was reviewing the scroll. She closed it and pointed it at him with a serious face. "What do you know about this?"
"What do I know about what?" Kankuro unintentionally snapped. "Give it here and let me read it."
Tenten with drew the scroll from his reach. "You are going to have to fight me for it first," she announced tucking the scroll into one of her vest's pockets.
Kankuro wasn't sure he liked that, but thought he might be able to keep up with her today. Taking a scroll was a different story altogether. Okay, this was going to be interesting.
"Don't hold back," she announce as he lunged and she twisted his arm behind his back,
"Baki is watching, probably Gaara, too," she whispered into his ear and released him. This time she attacked first, and he blocked each blow perfectly, even though he felt like he was still slower than she was.
"Good, good," she approved as he flipped her over and tried to scramble on top of her. "Not quick enough," she leapt forward avoiding the pin and came at him with a series of kicks one of which he caught her foot, and thinking he had her, tried to pull her towards him with a yank. He stumbled backwards realizing all he had of her was her shoe. He threw it to the ground much harder than he should have out of frustration making the shoe bounce before landing flat behind him. He readied himself for the next attack. She seemed to come out of nowhere, and he found himself blocking her fists with his arms and ducking to avoid some very strong kicks. He reached out and grabbed one of her legs again, only it was the other leg and he ended up pulling a shoe off once more. "Ok, Ten, this is getting to be redicu-ah!" Kankuro was forced to stop his conversation and pay some attention to his attacker. He needed to get in a good series of strikes instead of playing offence. He had more force by far than she did, so it might only take a few punches before he landed a hit. Not that he wanted to hit her, but he probably wasn't going to be able to see the contents of the scroll unless he actually took it from her. There was something in Gaara's smirk before he left that played in the back of his mind, and his curiosity was getting the better of him.
She parried the attack, but she was unprepared for the kick to her stomach, which Kankuro regretted as soon as it connected.
"Now were talking," Tenten recovered with a grin and followed up with more rounding kicks. Kankuro caught a foot, not a shoe, and quickly spun the direction of movement until she landed and he could pin her.
For a brief moment he thought he was going to eat turf. He thought he had heard her say cowboy. Perhaps that was just to throw him off. He was on top this time, neatly pinning her arms over her head. Now very aware how out of breath they both were, worlds away from where he started a month ago, where he was sucking air and she had only looked bored. He released one of her arms only to take his hand and slip his trophy out of her front vest pocket. It crossed his mind to kiss her mercilessly, even if Gaara and Baki were there, he wanted at least that before she left. He couldn't let her go without at least a kiss; even if he was sure he wouldn't be able to stop himself there if he did. He had to crawl off of her to unravel the paper, but made sure to keep one of her legs pinned so she could not wander off.
"I sense a lack of trust," she said and tried to pull her leg out. She looked rather unamused. Kankuro grunted in approval that she was indeed stuck.
He put his attention to reading the scroll. When he was done reading the scroll, he snapped back to the top and read it again. He was almost certain he was going to wake up dreaming at any moment.
"The words aren't going to change, Kankuro," Tenten called out to get his awareness back to her, "and if you don't get off my foot, I'ma get a different scroll out and beat you with the things inside of it."
Kankuro vaguely recalled a scroll of miscellaneous sharp pointed objects in mass quantities coming from that scroll. He rolled off her foot.
"Tell me you are going to take this job offer," Kankuro nearly pleaded as he entered her personal space in an almost intimidating way. "This wouldn't be long distance, you and I."
"I know, Kankuro, but I still need to think about this."
"What is there to think about?" Kankuro nearly screamed. "I thought this was the one thing standing in our way, and you have to think about it?" Kankuro was not just raising his voice anymore, he was nearly growling as he clenched his fists with rage. "You're not scared this won't work Tenten, you are scared that it will."
He was shaking now.
"Excuse me?" She rounded on him, "Did you stop for a moment to think what would happen if we didn't work out? Huh? I won't just lose you Kankuro- I lose Temari, I lose Gaara: I lose Suna,"
He blinked dumbly at her in his anger, unable to come up with an intelligible response. "And this contract is only for six weeks," she continued, "then we are right back where we were before, right back to where your sister and Shikamaru are." She fiercely pointed with a finger as if they were in that direction. "And then what?" her face had gone red with her emotion and she looked about to cry, "You can't tell me this will still end well!"
"It can't end if it doesn't begin!" Kankuro stated to Tenten's now turned back. She was gripping the scroll in her hands so tight it was tearing from the tension in her small hands.
"Then maybe it's better this way."
Kankuro only blinked, but it was enough time for her to leave him standing there all alone, wondering if that was the last thing he would ever hear her say.
.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o
Tenten stood before the Kazekage, who no longer had a smirk on his face. As he stared at the stoic konoichi, he realized she had been crying only a few minutes before entering his office. This was not what he had in mind.
"You are declining our job offer?" Gaara questioned her as he glanced over the scroll, eyeing the notarized time and date of the declination, as well as the small torn edges and stress marks laid throughout the document.
"Yes, Kazekage-sama." Tenten remained still as she replied.
He also noted her backpack stuffed with her belongings slung across her back. She was ready to bolt. He couldn't let her.
"I still need a full report on my brother's training," he said nonchalantly leaning into his chair.
Tenten pulled out a scroll from within her vest and placed it on the Kazekage's desk. It was thick and detailed. She was quite thorough at covering her bases.
"I am still going to need you to go over this with me," Gaara explained as he unraveled the scroll.
"Kazekage-sama, I have gone through the report in detail with Baki, if I may be so bold to say," she relayed quite formally, still not looking him in the eye. Normally people didn't, but this was unusual for her.
"I see." Was all he could muster as he was profoundly impressed by the detail she went through in her report. She not only went through what they did in their sparring sessions, she gave projections for when he would improve and how he would improve then outlined a training regiment for him according to his strengths and weaknesses. Gaara was astonished at the immaculately detailed report in his hands.
He momentarily lost sight of his main objectives as he engrossed himself in the document.
"If that is all…" Tenten bowed and started to leave the room.
"Wait, Tenten," Gaara spoke as he slid himself away from his desk. Tenten froze in her tracks and turned around.
"Yes, Kazekage-sama,"
"Why are you in such a hurry to get home? Did you not enjoy your stay here in Suna?"
"No, Kazekage-sama, my stay here was above exceptional as always." She bowed graciously.
Gaara tried to cross the room to meet her by the double doors to get a better idea of what exactly was making the konoichi his brother had fallen so hard for leave, when said brother burst into the room ranting. He had missed how Tenten had slipped silently out the door as he charged towards his brother.
"Gaara I know you are in a meeting, but I need you to help me find her." Kankuro pleaded as his brother nearly rolled his eyes.
"She's headed towards the gates of Suna right now." Gaara explained.
"She is? Wait, how do you know that?" Kankuro questioned with a sense of awe.
"She was the one whose meeting you interrupted."
o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o
Tenten had reached all the way to forest before stopping to rest from a straight run. She slung her pack off her shoulders and opened her camping scroll to fish out some camping supplies and some much needed water. She had never run so hard or so fast in all her life. It felt good, like a purging- as if all the problems from Suna were melting out of her sweat as she ran. Guzzling down the rest of the water, she decided to run the rest of the way instead of stopping for the night; it had been a while since she had done a long run team Gai style. Taking out some more water for the run, she gathered her supplies and headed out of her would be campsite.
o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o
Kankuro was sweaty, sore, and cursing when he reached Konoha's main gate. Fumbling for papers, he swore loudly when he thought he had misplaced them. The vulgarity caught the attention of none other than Neji as he was walking by on his way towards his compound.
Kankuro grumbled as the Hyuga smirked at his condition: worn hard and miserable from his long journey only to be met with one of his least favorite people on his way into town.
Kankuro split into a grin, never breaking eye contact with the silver-eyed warrior, as he found the correct papers in his back pocket.
The guards waved him passed and Kankuro ran past the Byakugan user towards the apartment his sister and Tenten shared.
He banged on the front entrance with gusto and tried his very best not to Big Bad Wolf the door onto its hinges. He resorted to huffing and puffing Tenten's name. He could nearly make out her chakra signature when he felt one behind him.
"Gena," Kankuro swiftly turned to meet the man's gaze.
"Suna Trash," Neji narrowed his eyes.
Tenten unceremoniously pulled the door opened and evaluated the situation before her. Looking at the two she tried to close the door to them, pretending they weren't there. She had freshly showered, hair still wet and clinging to her back and sporting a fuzzy white robe. She was in the middle of brushing out her hair when the two ninja showed up on her doorstep. Tenten tried to close the door, which Kankuro blocked with a beefy limb, to which Neji shoved him.
That is how the fight started.
The fight ended soon after Tenten had grabbed her tonfa and beat the living shit out of the two ninja who just destroyed her new railing. She dragged them inside fuming at the audacity of the two shinobi now rubbing various body parts to ease their pain.
"You so much as breathe on each other and I swear to Kame I will not hesitate to use this scroll on you both."
Tenten referred to the large scroll in her hand that did not wheel the tonfa.
Kankuro knew that scroll: that was her "now you're fucked" scroll. He quietly nodded with the Hyuga who he was pretty sure was sporting a broken arm.
Tenten effortless twirled the tonfa in her hand and used it as a pointing stick when she wanted to stop her pacing and point to one of the boys bleeding on her carpet.
"You!" she rounded on Neji, "I don't even know where the hell to begin with you!"
Neji swiped at the blood tricking down his lip as she spoke.
"And you!" she pointed the stick at Kankuro who was positive he was hemorrhaging internally. "What the hell were you thinking running after me like that? Do you have any idea how conditioned you have to be in order to make that kind of run? Eat this," and she threw him a pill. He eye balled it and popped it in his mouth, crunching it as she continued. Kankuro noticed that his side no longer hurt a few moments after he swallowed it: in fact, he felt quite refreshed all over.
"I know that we were team mates, Neji, but that does not give you the excuse to butt in my personal life whenever you so feel the need. I suggest you start by leaving and seeking medical attention for your internal bleeding." Tenten offered him a hand up off the floor with the arm that wasn't broken, and promptly shoved him unceremoniously out the door.
"Good riddance." She breathed out and sighed against the door. Her attention refocused on the now more perky ninja, who looked torn between whistling happily and groveling for mercy.
"You. Couch. Now." She motioned for Kankuro to make his way into the living room.
Kankuro complied. He was startled when she took her place on top of him and planted kisses along his sweaty neck and face.
"Did I hurt you?" she asked with a worried look in her eyes between kisses.
"Well, yeah," Kankuro tried to focus his attention on his words and not the suddenly loose fluffy robe exposing some ample cleavage in his line of sight as the konoichi on top of him leaned forward to kiss his neck, "but whatever you gave me, I feel great," he tried again to focus his mind on what the hell was going on now: one minute she is attacking him with Billy club, the next she is on top of him, kissing him until his pants felt uncomfortably tight. Why were women so fucking crazy?
He found her mouth and captured it with his. He deepened the kiss almost half expecting her to hit him with a blunt object or to wake up from a dream.
He broke off the kiss and flipped her on the couch. Her wet hair splayed out across the cushion of the couch, her lips swollen from their dizzying kiss. "Come back with me to Suna," he unconsciously brushed as strand of hair away from her face, "take the job my brother offered you, we can figure everything else out later, just stay with me, don't let this go before we get a chance to start it."
There was a long pause as she contemplated the words, but she eventually nodded. Kankuro split into a white-toothed grin and gave in to his urge to kiss her hungrily.
A/N Ok so my brother and I were watching some discovery channel program about seals…beer in hand he clinks the top of his beer with mine and points to the TV with the neck bottle and says to the furry aquatic sea mammals: "I'd club that."
He was totally joking, but he has such a dry sense of humor that I doubt anyone would laugh at that except me. Needless to say if you have the sick sense of humor that I do, you probably laughed at that too.
And thank you for all who read and review, this one took a while to publish…so I hope you all enjoy it!