Chapter Three.
The blond kunoichi shifted uneasy. She looked up at the sky and than back at the gates they were guarding.
"Oi, Godo, where the hell is Yanagi?"
The one called Godo turned around and stared at her for a moment. He was a tall man, massively built. His hair was long, green and braided. On the right of his jacket, the stitching identified him as a team captain.
"Didn't you tell her she had a duty this morning?"
Godo frowned.
"Yeah. I told her. She knows. Why do you always think it's my fault?"
"Cuz it usually IS your fault." Chimed another kunoichi with light, light red hair gathered in short three pony tails. Team captain glared at her.
"I should get extra pay for all the abuse I take from you people, especially Yanagi" he grumbled quietly. "I told her. Just like I told you two, idiots. Shimori and Gemaro are lucky to be on a mission so they don't have to put up with this constant nagging." He sighed and turned his face outwards, to the burning sands of the surrounding desert. "You women."
"Us women.. what?"
Familiar voice forced the three of them to turn around. Yanagi waved her hand at her teammates.
"Gomen. Kage sent for me this morning." She handed Godo the scroll. "I suppose they wanted a report on the progress of the Kage's brats."
Yanagi jumped down and took her place between the other two women. Godo smirked to himself.
"Either that. or you were up too late with that mystery man, I saw you with at the restaurant last night."
Yanagi froze, as if someone hit her over the head. Godo smirked and continued in a sickening sweet tone.
"Is that your new boyfriend, Yanagi-chan???"
Yanagi made a face.
"He isn't my boyfriend you big over grown bafoon. He's just." She stopped for a moment. "He's just a .. friend that happened to take me out to dinner."
"A friend that you screwed right afterwards?" Godo had one bad quality in his character. He didn't know when to stop.
Yanagi flushed with anger.
"No! I did..And since when is MY private life became a public property? Hmmmm???"
"Since he's a Leaf Nin."
"And?"
"That's treason."
Yanagi rolled her eyes and than rolled up her sleeve with an annoyed look.
"Oh don't even start this with me, Godo. Everyone and their mother know about you and every single kunoichi from all the other villages we visited on missions. You're like the stork, you never stop. I'm still surprised your wife is completely clueless. Jiriaya is.just someone who's pleasant to be around. That's all. Sheesh. Why do I have to explain to you whom I sleep with? What are you, my mother?"
She rolled up the second sleeve and got on the very ledge of a tall wall.
"Now are we gonna do this thing or not?"
~~~ about a week or so later~~~~
The Hidden Sand tournament was near its climax. The preliminaries and the qualifications were done with, and now it was all about the finals. The natives of Sunagakure have gotten really tired of all these people waltzing around on the village's streets. They wanted it to be over, the sooner the better. This whole business has been dragging on for SOOOOOO long. Of course, the constant flow of money really hepled brighten the mood, but everyone wanted to be home for Christmas.
It was a week or so before Christmas. The whole Sunagakure was getting ready. The malls were crowded and the people tended to get violent RIGHT before that very special time of the year. The police force, or rather the anbu force had to be doubled, if not tripled and most sensei's were pulled off of their teams to perform their anbu duties as the Kazekage has instructed them. Team One was an exception though. Temari was being trained to be a Kage, and that was very important that the three of them got as much practice as they possibly could. Yanagi's job was a lot easier, given how she didn't have to divide herself into two different parts.
"Hmmm. It's Christmas time. Does it snow, in Sunagakure?" Jiriaya asked, as they stood on a bridge watching the sun dip below the horizon line.
"No. Does it snow in Konoha?
"Yes. It snows a LOT right before Christmas too. It's a shame I'm going to be stuck here."
She chuckled.
"Yeah. Perhaps. Who knows, maybe the tournament would be over before than and you could still make it home."
He looked over at her. This has been bothering him for the longest time now. It's been a few weeks since they began.well.you know. And it still hasn't stopped. But their relationship never became more than casual sex every other night. Yanagi never seemed upset or bothered by the horrendous amount of attention he showered just about every other pretty woman in the village. She seemed content with what was going on. Of course, Jiriaya had many relationships before. He was the famous Ero Sennin, aka peeping tom of Konoha. But all of those always ended up in a one night stand.
"Yanagi san?"
She turned her face towards him.
"Hmmm?"
"I'm just wondering..You know that as soon as the tournament ends, I'll have to go..back home..right?"
Her eyes became little arches.
"Yes. I know. I hope you get there safely. There's been a lot of suspicious activity going on, with Orochimaru attending the hidden tournaments and all."
Jiriaya nursed his lip. He didn't quite know how to ask her what was troubling him. He. really didn't want her to get an idea that he wanted a relationship with him. He stared at the sky that was turning bright, beautiful colors.
"Don't worry. I don't want a relationship out of you. I'm not good at relationships. In fact, I'm the worst person to have one with. It'll be best if you leave after the tournament and we don't see each other for a long, long time, Jiriaya sama."
That caught him by surprise.
"Huh?"
"Well. I usually tend to get bored. And my interest just disappears. Although you ARE the longest interest I ever had in a man. but still. I think once the tournament is over it'd be better if we just went our separate ways."
Jiriaya uttered a loud sigh of relief.
"Yanagi san..don't take that as me saying I don't like you."
"Damn. She's really hot." He thought to himself. "And I do like her.. But. I don't like her THAT much.."
She laughed.
"I know that you like me. That's not the point. The point is, I'm not going to settle down with a man. Ever. I'd be the worst wife or a mother. And we'll both look quite stupid when one of us will looses interest, ne?"
He nodded. She brought up quite an interesting point.
"You speak wise words, Yanagi-san."
She grinned in her usual manner.
"Of course."
"And damn, do you have a rack on you or what.." He thought to himself as they left the bridge to go wonder around the village, emerging into different types of the conversations. Eventually, all roads led to Yanagi's little house and to the redwood bed with canapé above it. And eventually, all evenings ended up the same. Pile of clothes on the floor and a mountain of sake dishes on the kitchen table.
~~~~~ Later that week~~~~~~~
Yanagi stared at the calendar, absent minded. She didn't really know what she was looking for. In fact, she didn't even remember WHY she came to this kitchen in the first place.
"Why the hell am I here?"
She leafed through the pages, trying to get on track with her forgotten thoughts.
"Hmm.This must be important..but what was it? No..I don't have the anbu duties today..I had a training session earlier.What the HELL is it?"
An interesting pattern of circles attracted her attention as she leafed through the previous months.
"June 25. July 26. August 25. September 27."
She stopped. Yanagi stopped leafing through the pages.
"Wait.I think."
Her eyes enlarged as she frantically began searching through the past two months.
"November.." There was no circle on that month. "December" no circle there either. She looked up, calculating the result of this discovery in her head.
"OH MY FUCKING GOD! I'm LATE!!!"
Immedeately her face went from calm to enraged.
"I'm GOING TO FUCKING KILL HIM!!!"
The blond kunoichi shifted uneasy. She looked up at the sky and than back at the gates they were guarding.
"Oi, Godo, where the hell is Yanagi?"
The one called Godo turned around and stared at her for a moment. He was a tall man, massively built. His hair was long, green and braided. On the right of his jacket, the stitching identified him as a team captain.
"Didn't you tell her she had a duty this morning?"
Godo frowned.
"Yeah. I told her. She knows. Why do you always think it's my fault?"
"Cuz it usually IS your fault." Chimed another kunoichi with light, light red hair gathered in short three pony tails. Team captain glared at her.
"I should get extra pay for all the abuse I take from you people, especially Yanagi" he grumbled quietly. "I told her. Just like I told you two, idiots. Shimori and Gemaro are lucky to be on a mission so they don't have to put up with this constant nagging." He sighed and turned his face outwards, to the burning sands of the surrounding desert. "You women."
"Us women.. what?"
Familiar voice forced the three of them to turn around. Yanagi waved her hand at her teammates.
"Gomen. Kage sent for me this morning." She handed Godo the scroll. "I suppose they wanted a report on the progress of the Kage's brats."
Yanagi jumped down and took her place between the other two women. Godo smirked to himself.
"Either that. or you were up too late with that mystery man, I saw you with at the restaurant last night."
Yanagi froze, as if someone hit her over the head. Godo smirked and continued in a sickening sweet tone.
"Is that your new boyfriend, Yanagi-chan???"
Yanagi made a face.
"He isn't my boyfriend you big over grown bafoon. He's just." She stopped for a moment. "He's just a .. friend that happened to take me out to dinner."
"A friend that you screwed right afterwards?" Godo had one bad quality in his character. He didn't know when to stop.
Yanagi flushed with anger.
"No! I did..And since when is MY private life became a public property? Hmmmm???"
"Since he's a Leaf Nin."
"And?"
"That's treason."
Yanagi rolled her eyes and than rolled up her sleeve with an annoyed look.
"Oh don't even start this with me, Godo. Everyone and their mother know about you and every single kunoichi from all the other villages we visited on missions. You're like the stork, you never stop. I'm still surprised your wife is completely clueless. Jiriaya is.just someone who's pleasant to be around. That's all. Sheesh. Why do I have to explain to you whom I sleep with? What are you, my mother?"
She rolled up the second sleeve and got on the very ledge of a tall wall.
"Now are we gonna do this thing or not?"
~~~ about a week or so later~~~~
The Hidden Sand tournament was near its climax. The preliminaries and the qualifications were done with, and now it was all about the finals. The natives of Sunagakure have gotten really tired of all these people waltzing around on the village's streets. They wanted it to be over, the sooner the better. This whole business has been dragging on for SOOOOOO long. Of course, the constant flow of money really hepled brighten the mood, but everyone wanted to be home for Christmas.
It was a week or so before Christmas. The whole Sunagakure was getting ready. The malls were crowded and the people tended to get violent RIGHT before that very special time of the year. The police force, or rather the anbu force had to be doubled, if not tripled and most sensei's were pulled off of their teams to perform their anbu duties as the Kazekage has instructed them. Team One was an exception though. Temari was being trained to be a Kage, and that was very important that the three of them got as much practice as they possibly could. Yanagi's job was a lot easier, given how she didn't have to divide herself into two different parts.
"Hmmm. It's Christmas time. Does it snow, in Sunagakure?" Jiriaya asked, as they stood on a bridge watching the sun dip below the horizon line.
"No. Does it snow in Konoha?
"Yes. It snows a LOT right before Christmas too. It's a shame I'm going to be stuck here."
She chuckled.
"Yeah. Perhaps. Who knows, maybe the tournament would be over before than and you could still make it home."
He looked over at her. This has been bothering him for the longest time now. It's been a few weeks since they began.well.you know. And it still hasn't stopped. But their relationship never became more than casual sex every other night. Yanagi never seemed upset or bothered by the horrendous amount of attention he showered just about every other pretty woman in the village. She seemed content with what was going on. Of course, Jiriaya had many relationships before. He was the famous Ero Sennin, aka peeping tom of Konoha. But all of those always ended up in a one night stand.
"Yanagi san?"
She turned her face towards him.
"Hmmm?"
"I'm just wondering..You know that as soon as the tournament ends, I'll have to go..back home..right?"
Her eyes became little arches.
"Yes. I know. I hope you get there safely. There's been a lot of suspicious activity going on, with Orochimaru attending the hidden tournaments and all."
Jiriaya nursed his lip. He didn't quite know how to ask her what was troubling him. He. really didn't want her to get an idea that he wanted a relationship with him. He stared at the sky that was turning bright, beautiful colors.
"Don't worry. I don't want a relationship out of you. I'm not good at relationships. In fact, I'm the worst person to have one with. It'll be best if you leave after the tournament and we don't see each other for a long, long time, Jiriaya sama."
That caught him by surprise.
"Huh?"
"Well. I usually tend to get bored. And my interest just disappears. Although you ARE the longest interest I ever had in a man. but still. I think once the tournament is over it'd be better if we just went our separate ways."
Jiriaya uttered a loud sigh of relief.
"Yanagi san..don't take that as me saying I don't like you."
"Damn. She's really hot." He thought to himself. "And I do like her.. But. I don't like her THAT much.."
She laughed.
"I know that you like me. That's not the point. The point is, I'm not going to settle down with a man. Ever. I'd be the worst wife or a mother. And we'll both look quite stupid when one of us will looses interest, ne?"
He nodded. She brought up quite an interesting point.
"You speak wise words, Yanagi-san."
She grinned in her usual manner.
"Of course."
"And damn, do you have a rack on you or what.." He thought to himself as they left the bridge to go wonder around the village, emerging into different types of the conversations. Eventually, all roads led to Yanagi's little house and to the redwood bed with canapé above it. And eventually, all evenings ended up the same. Pile of clothes on the floor and a mountain of sake dishes on the kitchen table.
~~~~~ Later that week~~~~~~~
Yanagi stared at the calendar, absent minded. She didn't really know what she was looking for. In fact, she didn't even remember WHY she came to this kitchen in the first place.
"Why the hell am I here?"
She leafed through the pages, trying to get on track with her forgotten thoughts.
"Hmm.This must be important..but what was it? No..I don't have the anbu duties today..I had a training session earlier.What the HELL is it?"
An interesting pattern of circles attracted her attention as she leafed through the previous months.
"June 25. July 26. August 25. September 27."
She stopped. Yanagi stopped leafing through the pages.
"Wait.I think."
Her eyes enlarged as she frantically began searching through the past two months.
"November.." There was no circle on that month. "December" no circle there either. She looked up, calculating the result of this discovery in her head.
"OH MY FUCKING GOD! I'm LATE!!!"
Immedeately her face went from calm to enraged.
"I'm GOING TO FUCKING KILL HIM!!!"