Hooray for updates! And can I just say yesterday (Nov. 11) was fun? If anyone gets why, then kudos to you! Anyway, I loved the reviews I got...and thus a quicker update than normal! (Actually, I just had an easy time writing this...but yeah. XD) Enjoy!

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Teamwork –part 6–

As we waited for the Anbu to arrive, I focused my thoughts on mission related things, not wanting to fall back into that foolish daydream state I was in mere moments ago. I silently went over the events that had transpired, trying to find certain flaws that in later missions could be fixed. I grimaced, recalling my capture. That definitely wouldn't occur ever again…I had just been careless.

Mid-thought, the Anbu arrived, causing me to look up. I glanced at the new angle the sun was at as they filtered inside. They were late by at least five minutes.

"Here's the one you want," I informed, getting to my feet, brushing off the small amount of dust that had clung to my clothing. Jiraiya quickly got to his feet as well as the Anbu leader nodded, choosing to remain silent behind his mask. Two members of his squad approached the unconscious leader, picked him up and carried him out of the room.

"You two are to report to Hokage-sama in two days' time," he stated before following his squad outside. The last one out closed the door, filling the room with an uncomfortable silence.

"Two days… That gives us plenty of time to get back," Jiraiya commented, his voice, though subdued, seemed to fill the room.

"I suppose it does," I said quietly, sensing that a reply was needed. Just hearing his voice again sparked those stupid thoughts once more. I shoved them aside as best I could, but even so, they continued to whisper from the back of my mind, questioning why I was pushing away from something I clearly craved.

I shook my head, pushing the thoughts further away. I didn't even notice that while we walked back to the city, I kept a certain barrier between us. Apparently my logical side was winning in this ridiculous war.

Good.

Eventually we returned to the hotel. Glad to be in a room that wasn't composed of cold concrete; I took advantage of the now luxurious bathroom, locking myself inside. I wasn't taking chances of letting anything happen, so I brought my clothing in with me. Feeling more secure, I stepped into the shower and turned it on. I had to be careful of my wounds, I hardly needed those reopening. I ignored the memories of when said wounds had been bandaged and let the hot water wash it all away.

I wasn't sure how long I had been in there, but I didn't really care. I'd just tune out any complaining. I dried off, re-bandaging the now smaller wounds. I pulled on my uniform and feeling the need of routine, I also wrapped my calves, finding that it made me feel less exposed. Silly, but I didn't really care. Whatever gave me peace of mind, I was willing to do.

I stepped out of the bathroom, ignoring the instantaneous grey-eyed gaze that hit me. I walked calmly over to my pack, picking out the vest that accompanied the rest of the uniform I was wearing. With that on, I began putting the rest of my things inside, wanting to vacate that room as soon as possible. It brought back memories I didn't want to recall. They were too distracting.

"What's the rush? We have two days to get back to Konoha, and it only took us a day to get here," Jiraiya said, a strange sense of dejection in his voice.

"I'd prefer to sleep in my own bed tonight is all," I answered coolly, continuing as if he hadn't said anything. I didn't want to risk another 'event' happening. It was bad enough that I'd allowed it to happen more than once.

"I was serious when I said I'd sleep on the floor," he muttered.

"Excuse me?" I asked, glancing at him momentarily.

"You heard what I said."

I frowned, understanding too well why he might be acting like this, but I still denied something like that to be true. Thinking a perv of his magnitude was longing for me was absurd. Though it was kind of fun to ponder.

Stop.

I mentally kicked myself for allowing another lapse like that. If I allowed that to continue…I shuddered at the consequences my mind came up with.

When I was finished, I stood, the straps of the bag held loosely in my hand. "I don't care if you want to stay a while longer, but I'm leaving," I stated. I waited for the surprised outburst to come, but it never did. Slightly puzzled, I glanced in his direction as he spoke.

"I thought we were a team…and teams don't split up. Only bad comes of that. You should know that much," he replied, getting to his feet. I narrowed my eyes slightly. He was acting out of character again. Not a good sign.

"You forget how you managed to find information on your own. It doesn't always backfire," I shot back, annoyed.

"Still. We've done well on this mission –" I snorted, but he continued, "– and I want to finish it well. Meaning we return as the team we set out as, not two separate individuals." That last part made me stall. As to why, I wasn't sure, but something in his tone made me hesitate. "Besides, we still need to write that report, right? Why not get it done with now instead of later?"

I really did hate when he had a moment of cleverness.

Letting out a sigh, I dropped the straps of the bag.

"It won't take long to write the report. We can still be out of here by four at the latest," I said, walking to where he was standing. Avoiding his eyes, I picked up the sheet of paper in front of him, finding it to be a start to a report. It seemed he could do something productive.

"Why don't you revise what I've written so far while I get cleaned up?" he suggested, stepping off towards the bathroom.

"Fine," I murmured in response, sitting down and picking up the nearby pencil. This wouldn't take long; I knew I could have it finished by the time he was done. Given his habits, it shouldn't take him more than ten minutes. I smiled; glad to have this 'challenge' to distract me for the time being.

I finished about ten minutes later, expecting him to appear not long after.

He didn't.

The minutes began to add up, adding to my annoyance. I just knew he was doing this on purpose. I grit my teeth, as fifteen minutes had gone by. When it hit twenty, he finally emerged.

"What took so long?" I demanded, but try as I might; I couldn't make it sound as angry as I had previously been. His tan, toned form was to blame for that. Damn these troublesome hormones…

He shrugged as he approached me and for a split second my heart raced, thinking he was going to pull something, but logic soon took over, reminding me that his bag was mere inches from my feet. I scowled slightly; irritated by how easily I was being manipulated simply from a little exposed skin. And damp hair…and a clean scent…

He knelt down, and replied, "You took pretty long yourself. I was just relaxing a little." I stiffened, hoping his hand wouldn't brush against me.

"I took long because I didn't want to reopen my wounds," I snapped. He glanced up, but I hid my face by leaning over my work, glad to have the black veil of my hair.

He shrugged again, getting to his feet, "Understandable." I absolutely hated how calm he was acting. If it wouldn't have seemed odd, I would've probably punched him. I glued my eyes to the page as he started to get dressed, not wanting to make my already warm face hotter.

"How's the report coming?" he asked, slipping his shirt over his head as he walked back over. I allowed myself to watch him when he couldn't see me, a strangely pleasant feeling filling me as I gazed at him. I pushed that aside and answered,

"I'm nearly done." I immediately returned my eyes to the paper once the shirt was over his head. No need to give him any more reason to tease me. I couldn't help but tense when he reached under my arm to get at the first sheet. He noticed, naturally, and gave me a bemused expression before reading it over. Before he could do it again, I handed him the second sheet.

As irritating as it was to have him hovering over me, I refused to move. He was only a few inches away, and I could just barely feel his breath. Content with this middle point, I waited for him to finish reading.

"Well? Does it meet your standards?" I asked dryly when he handed it back.

"Mostly, though you sugar-coated your capture. I know you weren't planning on it," he smirked. I felt my face flush scarlet. I had forgotten about writing it that way…damn it.

"Shut up. And don't tell Sensei otherwise."

"Sure, sure, but you owe me." I sighed. Of course there'd be a catch.

"What do you want?"

"Oh nothing at the moment, but I'm sure I'll come up with something." Whatever that 'something' was worried me. I hid it as fast as I could, but I had a feeling he saw it anyway.

"Can we go now?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah. I just need to throw my stuff in my bag," he replied. As he packed up his things, I began to feel the weight of the blackmail over me. I just knew whatever he came up with would not be good. It wouldn't be blackmail otherwise.

Within about ten minutes we left, after paying for our room. When we were on the road, I relaxed slightly; glad I was leaving this horrid experience behind. That's at least what I made myself think. That stupid feeling had its own point of view, of course, and it knew that once we returned, something like this would probably never happen again. Though that made me somewhat sad, I didn't care, I could always block it out with something else.

"Hey Orochi, you wouldn't happen to have a girlfriend, would you?" Jiraiya asked. The nickname annoyed me. I'd told him many times to not shorten my name, but before I could yell at him for it, he had continued with that puzzling question.

"Where'd that come from?" I asked, confused. Was he trying to find out his odds…? Ha, yeah right.

"Well, you're in such a hurry. I thought you may have some little missy waiting back at home."

Honestly.

"Don't be stupid. You know I don't waste my time with such things. Besides, I already told you my reasoning behind wanting to return," I said coldly. How hard was it to understand?

"You want to sleep in your own bed, I know, I know," he muttered.

"If you knew, then why did you bother asking that?" Moron.

"I don't know I'm bored." Likely excuse. It was right about then that I realized just how coldly I was acting. He wouldn't back off like that otherwise. I felt a minor pang of guilt, and stayed silent.

This was really starting to get to me…I could hardly control my own actions anymore. Something had to give, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know what side was going to eventually win.

The day went slowly by, the sun finally setting in the distance. The heat wave we'd had was long gone, replaced by the beginnings of fall. As darkness surrounded us, it grew cooler and I fought off a slight shiver. It wasn't that cold…maybe fifty degrees at worst. Before long, the moon rose and I started to slow, the day's journey beginning to show.

"I know you wanted to reach Konoha before you rested, but maybe we should stop?" Jiraiya asked softly. I nodded, not wanting to argue when it was obvious I was tired. I dropped my pack when we were far enough from the road, gingerly rubbing my stiff shoulders. Apparently I had been walking rigidly all day without noticing it.

I quickly unpacked what I needed and was soon nestled into my own 'bed'. Sure, it wasn't as comfortable as the one I had back home, but it would have to do for now.

"Hey Orochimaru?"

"Yes?" Of course he'd have to interrupt me getting rest again.

"Is your back still sore from traveling?"

"Why would you care?"

"Because mine is, and if we're both sore, we can take turns giving each other a massage," he explained. The stupid feeling immediately told me to say yes to his request, but I held it off. I imagined what would happen if I allowed his hands on me…probably something similar to when he bandaged my wounds. I'd get all flustered and stupid. No way.

"I'll pass thanks."

"Aww, c'mon! Why not?"

"I'm not that sore," I replied smoothly.

"Liar. You were rubbing your shoulders and were wincing from it," he protested. I glanced at him surprised. He was watching me now?

"If I give you one, will you shut up?" I muttered.

"Only if I can give you one in return," he replied, sitting up. "I don't want you doing all of the work, after all." I sighed, realizing he wasn't going to give this up.

"Very well, but if I hear one more thing out of your mouth tonight…" I warned, sitting up as he crawled over to me.

"Don't worry, I'll be quiet as a mouse," he promised.

"Mice aren't exactly quiet around snakes," I remarked dryly, getting a laugh out of him.

"Good point, but I'll break the cliché."

"If you say so… Who's going first?" I asked, tensing slightly when he brushed against me.

"You can," he grinned, turning away from me. I sighed.

"Should've seen that one coming…" I muttered, placing my hands on his shoulders. The fact that I was allowing this showed that his manner was breaking down my barriers again. He shivered under my hands when I started, causing me to flush slightly. Apparently he was enjoying this.

I had him relaxed within a matter of minutes. I knew he really wasn't that sore. He'd just made it up to get me in this situation. And I'd taken the bait. Oh well.

I turned away from him slowly, not knowing what would happen now that it was my turn. He waited patiently, not commenting on my jerky movements, but I was sure he was thinking about them.

I nearly jumped when he laid his hands on my shoulders, my body going rigid.

"If you're going to sit so stiffly, there won't be any point to this," he said, gently massaging my shoulders. It didn't take much to make my body relax under his grip; I just had to let that stupid, but pleasant, feeling take over. After that…well, I could actually enjoy what he was doing. My entire body tingled when he was done.

"Not so bad after all, huh?" he teased, his voice soft.

"I suppose not," I replied sleepily, most of my weight being supported by his hands. I was actually kind of sad it was done.

"Maybe we should do this more often…" he suggested. My less logical side nearly screamed in agreement, but I was too tired to express such emotion.

"Perhaps," I mused, imagining how much better it could be sitting on a real bed…

"Cool… I don't know about you, but I'm pretty tired now." I was nearly asleep as it was, and his voice, quiet and comforting, wasn't helping matters. I bet if he rested me against his chest I'd fall right under…

"You're not the only one," I yawned. "Do you mind moving so that I may lie down?" I secretly hoped he'd say no, forcing me to sleep in his embrace again, but alas, I can't have everything go my way.

He simply nodded and let go of me. If I hadn't been expecting it, I would've fallen straight back.

He lied down and fell almost instantly asleep. I forced myself to stay awake a while longer, gazing at his resting form, hungrily taking in his features. It was surprising – despite his perverted mind – that he didn't have more girls after him. He wasn't bad looking, and the contrast of white hair on tan skin was…well, easy on the eyes.

I nudged my bed roll slightly closer to his and watched him until my eyes finally slipped shut.

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