A/N: There's a slight lemonish moment that doesn't go too far.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the characters. I also have to give credit for the song mentioned in this chapter; Kiri by Monoral. If you haven't heard it, it's a beautiful piece of music.
Tenten hated every minute of her job from the moment she walked in. Her boss, Reo, was a chauvinist jerk. Her uniform was designed to "stimulate our customers to continue to win their business" as he put it. It took all her strength not to use the two senbon she used in her hair to hold her single bun and stab him repeatedly in his beady little eyes. She grit her teeth as she changed from her dress into a pair of really tight and short black shorts and a zip up navy blue crop top where the zipper only covered half of her chest; creating massive amounts of cleavage spilling out the top of her bra. As she buckled the white belt with black rhinestones, she fantasized about how many ways she could use the belt to kill Reo. It would be far less messy than the senbon through the eyes.
It was also a requirement for all the girls to have their make-up and hair perfectly done before each shift. Being a novice, Tenten decided to keep her long straight hair down with a side part that was secured by a silver leaf barrette. Her make-up was another story. She struggled with the eye liner in the bathroom mirror having to remove it several times to start over.
"Here let me help you. I used to poke myself in the eye at least 3 times before I got it right."
Tenten spun around to see a petite woman with piercing blue eyes and long charcoal black hair that fell almost to the bottom of her butt. If she didn't know any better, she would have sworn this was Naruto and Hinata's daughter from the future. Tenten couldn't help but stare at her haunting beauty.
"Oh I'm sorry. I'm Miyu. You must be Hitomi. Reo-san asked me to show you around and train you this week. It's pretty easy stuff once you get used to it and by it I mean how stupid men get when a beautiful woman is around" she said with a wink.
Miyu continued chatting while she worked on Tenten's make-up. The girl had stories about everyone and everything in the village. Tenten instantly liked Miyu. Not only was she friendly, she was smart, pretty hilarious, and had sort of a 'don't fuck with me' attitude. Miyu told Tenten about the other girls that she would meet later. Based on her descriptions, Tenten could sum up her coworkers as an interesting and complicated bunch of women. Ayaka or Aya as she preferred, was kind of the town slut. She's dated and/or slept with half of the Kusa shinboi that frequent the bar. Momo was a sweet, shy, and extremely intelligent. She wasn't the type you would expect to work there, but apparently, she turns into a different person when she's at work. Music and karaoke are two of her biggest passions. Lastly there is Tatsu. Miyu could only describe her as a loud, obnoxious, slightly rude party girl with hair that resembled a sunset during the height of summer. She drank and sang with all the guys but didn't sleep with them like Aya. Somehow, this mix of eclectic personalities formed a really tight bond despite their vast differences. Tenten would have to establish Hitomi's personality fast in order to fit in and gain their trust.
"There. You're done. You know, Hitomi-chan, you really don't need to add too much make-up. Your face is so pretty just with a little bit of blush, light eye liner, and lip gloss. Now, let's go meet the others."
Twenty-two minutes into the presentation on 'Why the Mail is Important' and Kakashi was ready to quit. His trainer, Haru, was a nice kid but he took this mail services thing way too seriously. He was beyond bored and wished he could use a shadow clone to take his place while he explored the premises. He made a mental note to bring his book tomorrow to slip into the training manual. If he was going to be forced to read for an hour again, he at least wanted to read something interesting. Kakashi wasn't sure how long he had tuned out his young teacher, but he immediately responded to his mission name.
"Well Daisuke. How about I show you around and introduce you to your new team. Then we can break for lunch."
Kakashi couldn't have been more relieved to be doing anything other than listening about the joy one receives from getting a letter from a friend far away. As Haru conducted the tour of the facilities, Kakashi made a point to examine each floor so he could come back during his break to explore in more depth. He asked all sorts of random questions; some to make it seem like he was truly excited about his new career and others were necessary so he could devise a plan to send and receive intel unnoticed. The final leg of the tour was Kakashi's new work station. He shared the open room with 3 others who all had different tasks related to receiving and distributing the mail. He quickly forgot the names of everyone except one woman, Suki, who was in charge of reviewing the intake and output of messages. Kakashi made a mental note to get to know her as she was most vital to his mission.
During his lunch break, Kakashi took the time to thoroughly explore the entire building. With 10 minutes remaining on his break, he completely mapped out all standard operations so he decided to seek out Suki. He found her in the large break room along with a few others of his colleagues whose names and faces he already forgot. He put on his best smile as he approached the older woman reading at the table.
"Ah Suki-san, do you mind if I join you? I spent so much time wandering around I almost forgot to each my lunch."
Suki looked up from her book at the curious face disturbing her. She instantly put on a warm smile, closed her book and motioned for him to join her.
"Forgive me of course please sit. How is your first day?"
"Hm it is quite informative."
"You mean boring. It's okay everyone feels that way."
Kakashi noticed the cover of the book she hid away. His eyes grew as he found an easy way to build rapport with Suki.
"How do you like the book so far? Have you gotten to the part where Mikasa and Sora finally meet?"
Suki's eyes lit up at his knowledge of Icha Icha Paradise. She had no idea there were others who followed the series. While Kakashi finished the bento Tenten prepared for him, he and Suki discussed the entire series and scheduled to have lunch the next day to talk about the upcoming movie.
oOoOoOoO
It only took three days for Kakashi to establish trust with Suki and for the past three weeks, he kept in constant communication with Yamato. Unfortunately, there were no trails of the missing women or their captures. Kakashi and Tenten haven't been followed since the initial scouts the first day they arrived. He was beginning to worry that they had what they needed and backed off. Tenten spent as much time as possible in town and near the areas where most of the women were last seen but she also never sensed any shinobi following her. Although they still weren't sure what the trigger was, Tenten tried to make herself the perfect target; often wandering through the town alone well into dusk.
It was Wednesday and she typically had breakfast with her co-workers before they started their shift. Tenten was a little late from being caught up in using the headboard as targets for her kunai. She was going stir crazy in this civilian role and needed some sort of normalcy as a kunoichi. As Tenten ran towards the group of girls, she noticed they all had somber faces and that Miyu was missing. If it was Aya or Tatsu, Tenten would just suspect they were late from whatever crazy things they did the night before. But not Miyu. She was the organized one who always showed up early with a smile. Not seeing her at the table gave her a bad feeling.
"What's going on? Where's Miyu?"
The three girls looked at each other with blank faces and then back at Tenten.
"You haven't heard? We thought you knew. Um Miyu-chan...There was another abduction last night and-"
"Miyu is gone! Those sons of bitches got her last night." Tatsu grunted out, interrupting a visibly upset Momo.
"What? How? When? What happened?"
"Tch. If anyone fucking knew what was happening then it wouldn't be happening now would it? No one seems to know anything and no one is DOING anything. It's such bullshit."
For once, Tenten echoed Tatsu's feelings, curse words and all. There was something off about this town that she could not finger. How could there be over 60 girls to disappear and no one see anything? And now that it is someone she knew and someone she has grown to care about, Tenten was even more determined to find out who was responsible.
The moment Kakashi arrived to his work station, he noticed everyone in a deep and serious conversation. He went over to talk to Suki who informed him about the latest abduction. It was something Kakashi wanted to hear, but it's exactly what they needed to catch a trail. He immediately sent notice to Yamato on Miyu's last known location to try and pick up her trail. Kakashi left 3 of his ninken with Yamato to try to find any remaining scent of the missing women. He was hopeful they could find Miyu before it was too late for her.
After work, Kakashi decided to head to the bar to see Tenten. He knew one of her co-workers was the newest victim, so he hoped she had some information that could help Yamato in his search. He invited his co-workers along as a ruse to hide his ulterior motive; to check up on her because he was worried. He needed to see how she was handling this situation. She was barely recovering from losing two teammates and close friends. To lose another friend in a mission could send her back down the path of depression.
The minute they stepped into Karaokekan, Kakashi instantly regretted making this a work social event. After Tenten's first day, she told him about how much she hated her boss and that the place is ran more like a strip club than a karaoke restaurant. He just thought she was exaggerating until he saw the barely dressed waitresses serving drinks to dozens of groups of already intoxicated shinobi and civilians. The flush on his face instantly changed from arousal to anger as he saw a group of men practically drooling over Tenten as she served their drinks. The scarecrow normally didn't lose his cool but his need to protect her was overwhelming. Kakashi's fists were clenched and he was very prepared to play the role of an overly jealous husband when his group was interrupted by another waitress.
"Yo-hooo, cutie? Are you with me? I'm going to seat you and your crew now." Aya waved her hands in front of Kakashi's face. She rarely had any difficulties getting a man's attention so his aloofness threw her off. She grabbed Kakashi's hand and pulled him close to her; her lips right against his ear.
"Aya-chan is going to take very, very good care of you." Her whispering was quite seductive and would have worked if his mind wasn't focused on his fake wife.
The place was extremely busy for a Wednesday night. Tenten had so many tables that she barely had a chance to take a break. It didn't help that she worked extra hard to listen in on any conversations that could provide information on Miyu's disappearance. She was stealing a few minutes to herself in the back when Aya came in apparently frustrated. She complained about a table full of lames that were going through sake as if they were new to drinking. What really made her upset was the black-haired hunk at the table that kept ignoring her advances. She handed Tenten the tray and begged her to swap tables. She gladly switched, giving Aya a table full of drunk and undersexed shinobi from Suna.
When Tenten arrived at the table with the new bottle of sake, she almost dropped it on the ground. She did not expect the black-haired hunk to be Kakashi...or rather
"Daisuke?! What are you...Why are you...Are you checking in on me?" Shock quickly grew to anger. Tenten always had a problem controlling her temper, especially when she didn't have an outlet like training to get it out of her system.
Kakashi planned on responding with his excuse of a work social, but words escaped him when he saw a surprised and angry Tenten in what could barely be considered shorts and a shirt that showed just how toned yet curvy her body was. His eyes traveled from her long slender legs up to her big eyes...angry eyes, he noticed.
"Hitomi-chan. We are um. These are my co-workers and we're here for some drinks." Kakashi said just before downing his third shot of sake. He figured he would need several more to make it through this night alive.
As if suddenly remembering there were others at the table, Tenten's anger disappeared and she sat on Kakashi's lap and introduced herself to his co-workers. If she had to be embarrassed, so would he. The problem for Kakashi wasn't embarrassment; it was the threatening erection she was sure to feel the longer she sat on his lap; her cleavage jiggling with each laugh. He was grateful when the music stopped and the owner, Reo, got up on the main stage to make an announcement. Tenten immediately left to go stand with the other waitresses.
Reo gave a moving speech about the disappearance of Miyu and made a plea to the audience to talk to the Kusa police if they knew anything. Tenten almost believed that he cared about the girl as a person and not as a money-making opportunity. She was just about to clap until Reo decided to bring back an old classic staff participation night. She wanted to run and hide when Tatsu explained that each of them would need to go up to the stage and sing a randomly selected song. Momo was the only one out of the four excited to participate so naturally she went first.
After listening to Momo's over the top interpretation of Toto's 'Africa' and Aya singing Def 'Leppard's Pour Some Sugar On Me' complete with interpretive seductive dancing, Tenten paced back and forth nervously waiting for her turn. She hated being the center of attention and her nerves started to get the best of her. The moment she stepped on stage, she was certain she was going to puke or pass out or both. Reo pushed the button and the screen behind Tenten lit up with the random song generator. She locked eyes with Kakashi to gather a source of strength as the chosen song appeared on the screen.
The opening music to Monoral's 'Kiri' started. Tenten knew the song by heart, often listening to it on repeat when she returned home from the war with half a team. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and pretended she was back in her apartment in Konoha.
You complete my fate
The world unwinds inside of me
You complete my fate
The halo crawls away
The previously rowdy crowd grew eerily silent when she started. The song took her back to a time where she was completely lost and alone. A time where there was nothing left of her but a shell of a person that needed someone to help her become whole again. All eyes were on her, but when she opened her eyes, she only looked at him.
You repeat my fate
Rewinding all we can
You refill my place
You refill my place, place
The soft and sweet voice Kakashi heard whenever she would hum was different now. He could sense the melancholy within each smooth note. Her pitch was perfect, the ease at which the words flowed were haunting. The lyrics sent cold chills down his body. It was as if she were speaking directly to him as she sang.
Come and save me
(Believe in me and drink the wine and take my hand and fill me up)
Come and save me
(Believe in me and drink the wine and take my hand and fill me up)
Come and save me
Believe in me and
Drink the wine and
Take my hand and
Let me follow
By the end of the song, visible tears were in her eyes, threatening to spill down her face. But Tenten fought hard to keep from crying. She came too far to set back now. And with the approving nod from Kakashi in the crowd, she knew she was no longer alone.
At the end of the night, they walked home together, hand in hand, in a comfortable silence.
oOoOoOoO
Being 19 and having a crush on your 30 year old teacher wasn't the problem. Being Tenten having a crush on Hatake Kakashi was. There were so many rumors about the mysterious scarecrow. Everyone respects him for his skills as a shinobi, but most know very little about the man behind the mask. Some say that he has a secret love affair with Iruka. Others think that he's more of a one night stand kind of guy; getting most of his perverted ideas from his favorite smut novels. Whatever the rumor, the consensus was that he has something to hide and is indeed a closet pervert. If any of the rumors were true, what could that mean for her? Would she be just another conquest or something more? Was the random song chosen for her fate trying to point her in the right direction or a cruel way to set her up for heartbreak?
While working with him over the past two months, Tenten felt she knew more about Kakashi than most. She didn't believe the rumors as she could feel an underlying deepness to the man. There was some sort of ghostly connection that they shared beyond losing Gai. While lying awake at night, she tried to rationalize the feeling she got in the pit of her stomach anytime he would touch her. For the past few weeks, they have been playing house on this mission, so it couldn't be nerves...not anymore. Not when she longed for more as the mere thought of his arms around her provided a sense of safety and serenity that she never experienced before not even when meditating with Neji.
Neji…what would he think about this? Undoubtedly he would be annoyed, angry even. They both knew they loved each other in some way, but the Hyuga had too much pride to say anything and Tenten was equally stubborn. Between that and Neji's responsibility to his clan, so many words between them were left unsaid and even more questions remained unanswered. One thing that Tenten was certain of is that he always wanted her to be happy. She was sure that if she could see him one last time, he would tell her she was strong enough to handle anything that came her way. Or in Neji terms "more than capable as long as you put in the work."
The evening had been particularly difficult on him. First seeing Tenten in her work outfit, or lack there of, and then listening to her sing a song with lyrics that hit too close to home; add in large amounts of sake and the constant eye contact between the two and Kakashi almost lost it. The moment she walked off the stage, he went to her and held her while the next act performed. In that moment, it was just the two of them and no one else around them existed. He wanted to kiss her like in one of the more romantic scenes in the Icha Icha Paradise movie. The copy-nin had never experienced something or someone like her before. The closest he could fathom was Rin, but that was more of a sisterly bond of respect and admiration. This was very different. He instinctively felt possessive over her as if she was his, silently glaring at anyone who made a pass at her or looked her way for too long. He absolutely hated her work outfit as it brought too many eyes to the various curves of her body. She's becoming an unshakeable distraction from the mission, but he no longer cared. Even after he originally lost Obito and then Rin, Kakashi would still put the mission first. He rarely failed because of his hyper focus on success. This time was different. She was different. He could physically feel the loneliness inside him fade whenever she was near. His fears about his self-worth vanished with every smile she sent his way.
As he stared at the dark ceiling while lying on his back, Kakashi thought about all of the times he used the ploy of their mission identities to steal a hug or a kiss on the cheek. It was starting to not be enough. He wanted to hold her each night as they slept. He longed to feel her soft lips against his as Tenten, not as Hitomi. Reality hit him. He's so much older; people would talk. He didn't care about what they would say about him, but he could not let any harm come to her. He also knew this is not what Gai meant when he asked Kakashi to protect her. He couldn't help feeling guilty that he may be taking advantage of this situation. Despite her outward appearance, she still struggled with depression. He could see the flashes of sadness that she fought back each day. She was still vulnerable, confused, and hurting over the Hyuga's death. He wasn't even sure if she shared his feelings. Sure she would blush when said romantic things or hugged her, but that's what Hitomi would do for Daisuke. A girl like Tenten spent most of her life hiding her true feelings from others to protect herself. It was almost impossible to separate what was real and what was a mission.
His resolve changed to find out that answer tonight. Regardless of the possible repercussions on the mission, he needed to know and he needed to know tonight. Being careful not to make too much noise, he left the confines of his futon and made his way to the bedroom where Tenten slept peacefully.
She couldn't take it anymore. She wanted answers and she wouldn't be able to sleep until she had them. She wasn't terribly optimistic and a part of her expected to be extremely humiliated. But it was a risk she had to take. Tenten jumped from her bed and walked to the bedroom door. For a moment, her hand lingered on the knob and she second guessed her rash decision. She kept telling herself she just wanted to talk and if he was sleeping, she would wait until the morning. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths to steady her heart beat.
The door swung open before Kakashi could touch the handle. He half expected she was annoyed and he prepared for her to launch a kunai at him for waking her up. But the look in her eyes said something else. He saw concern, fear, and something else…desire or perhaps hope? They stood there speechless; both shocked to see the other at the door. Kakashi didn't hesitate and decided to let his body react as he instantly closed the distance between them. Never breaking eye contact, his left hand brushed the bangs from her face and his right arm slipped around her waist, pulling her body flush against his. She let out a little yelp at his aggressiveness. She liked it and proceeded to wrap her arms around his neck to gently pull his face closer to hers. It was all the affirmation he needed to move forward.
The moment their lips met, a warm rush of adrenaline flowed through her entire body. The initial touch was soft and slightly timid at first. They were both noticeably nervous about what was happening. The longing took over and she parted her lips to allow his tongue to slip inside; deepening the kiss. She surely would have melted into the floor if his grip around her waist didn't keep her steady. She could feel his heart pounding as fast as her own. Their body heat exponentially rising while their tongues danced in unison. Tenten found her hands starting to explore his body. In that moment, she wanted to feel him, all of him.
Gentle fingernails ran down his chest causing Kakashi to release a slight groan against her lips. He playfully nipped at her full bottom lip before diving fully back into the kiss. He used his body weight to force Tenten to back up until the back of her knees reached the edge of the bed. Only breaking the kiss long enough for a quick breath, he positioned his body in between her legs. Tenten could feel her wetness increasing with each flick of his tongue against hers. He pressed his hand against the small of her back and pulled her left leg up around his waist forcing her to arch against his erection. He wanted her to know just how she made him feel and that the need was there should she want to continue. And she did. Although Tenten was a virgin, she was fully committed to changing that tonight with him. She trusted him, she needed him, and dear God she wanted him.
He suddenly broke the kiss and studied her face. They were both struggling to catch their breath as they stared at each other. He could only think about how she was even more beautiful in the moonlight. Her usually expressive brown eyes appeared grey and full of passion and fire. Her lips were noticeably swollen for the intensity of their kiss. And the rapid rise and fall of her chest accentuated her breast. She didn't pull away or fight him. He knew she wanted it as well, but something stopped him. It wasn't the right moment and things were progressing too fast too soon.
With his head angled down so their foreheads touched, Kakashi sighed heavily.
"I'm sorry, Tenten. I can't. We can't. It's not the right time."
Kakashi released her body and turned to go back to his futon. He was ashamed of his actions. He felt like he took advantage of a young girl still recovering from the loss of her love. But Tenten grabbed his wrist and turned him around before he could escape.
"Stay with me tonight."
He couldn't say no to her even if he wanted. He simply nodded and they both climbed in the bed, quickly falling asleep in each other's arms.
Tenten was always an early riser. No matter what time she went to bed, she was always up before the sun fully rose. The haze of their midnight make-out session still whirled in her head. She forced her eyes open as she slowly started to fully wake up. She didn't expect to be entwined with the lightly snoring jounin. With her head on his chest, one arm wrapped around his waist, and one leg in between his, they looked very much the part of a young married couple.
"How long have you been awake?"
Kakashi cracked one eye open and looked down at Tenten. She saw right through his attempt to fake sleep. He woke up an hour before but enjoyed the peaceful look on her face as she slept too much to wake her. He smiled and kissed her forehead.
"Not too long. Are you okay?"
"I-I honestly don't know. I'm confused maybe. Or happy? I'm just not sure yet. Tenten turned on her side to see his face. "You?"
It took him some time to answer. They lay there face to face while he thought about his feelings.
"Guilty. Ashamed. I failed you and Gai."
These weren't the words Tenten wanted or expected to hear. Her face displayed her disappointment and the hurt she felt by his regret.
"But at the same time I wouldn't change what happened as long as this is, no, I'm what you want."
He was probably worse than Neji at expressing himself. It was a good thing that Tenten spent years honing her skill of interpreting introverted geniuses.
"Baka" is all she said before drawing him into a slow, deep kiss.
oOoOoOoO
When she arrived to work, Tatsu grabbed Tenten and dragged her into the back room.
"Hiiiitoooomi! Your performance last night is all anyone has been talking about. Who knew you were so fucking talented! It got so crazy when you left. Reo wants to make this a weekly thing for you."
Tenten hated the way Tatsu would draw out her name. It was so condescending. She wasn't sure what was worse, the fact that Tatsu smelled of sake at 10 in the morning, or the possibility of having to sing once a week. The only good thing that came from the conversation is the reaction. She would certainly attract the attention of the captures now that she's the talk of the village. She worried about Miyu more and more with each passing day. She hoped that she was alive and unharmed. But not knowing why women were being taken made Tenten skeptical. The next step would be to create a plan with Kakashi and Yamato. She was determined to bring Miyu home.
I'm pretty sure I have my ending mapped out and this will more than likely conclude with 10 chapters. Also, I've decided to make this a pairing (for now); something about these two together makes me laugh. As always, thanks for reading and such. Please review!
