Chapter 4: Pity Dating

As the last melancholy note faded away, the mice (wearing tiny tuxedos, no less), bowed in unison to Tenten and Kakashi, then 'poofed' back to where they came from.

Tenten gasped, as if released from a genjutsu, and realized she had somehow made her way around the table and plopped herself on Kakashi's lap like a toddler to get a better view of the rodents that had been facing him. She was also clutching his forearm against her chest like a stuffed toy. She had been so overcome with the cuteness performing in front of her that she had felt the overwhelming need to hug something.

There was a faint memory of him patting his lap invitingly and her automatically getting up to go to him while the music was playing. It was all very hazy because she had not been able to concentrate on anything except how utterly adorable it was to be serenaded by miniscule violinists.

"What was that… well, I know what that was... But how did you…"she dabbed at her teary eyes with her handkerchief and tried not to remember what she had just seen in too much detail, otherwise she would be in stitches again.

"One of those secrets I might tell you about when we get to know each other better," he had enjoyed carding his fingers through her hair with his free hand during the performance. His other arm had lost circulation some time ago from all the squeezing, but considering what it was being squeezed against, he considered the tradeoff worth it.

She reluctantly let go of his arm and caught her breath. It was too much. She relented. "Okay. The mice convinced me. We can keep seeing each other. I thought you said they would be mariachis?"

"The orchestral quintet was all I could get on short notice."

She buried her face into his shoulder to smother another fit of laughter. He made no move to dislodge her.

Finally, her giggles subsided enough so she could look up at him, "Since we're on the topic of dating, the kissing and other stuff will happen way later, right?"

"How much later?" He was quick to ask.

"…Chapter ten?"

"…. What chapter are we on now?"

"Four," she estimated.

"Nooo," he was aghast. "I want 'stuff' to happen as soon as possible."

She patted his cheek, "You're the one who's following an Icha Icha timeline."

"In the special edition, the protagonist saw his intended sweetheart bathing in the nude in the very first chapter!"

"I read that one too. All right. Where's your shower?" Tenten challenged. She reached under the hem of her dress and unclipped a garter belt to begin rolling down one stocking.

He grabbed her hand, again prolonging his- "Noooo…" He actually pouted at her, "The rest of that volume had them engaged in 'will-they? won't-they?' back and forth for five hundred pages before the scene fades out in the end as they're just about to kiss! The teaser at the beginning was just a lure to keep the readers on the edge of their seats throughout!"

She nodded to confirm that she knew this, tilting her head at him. "So are we following Jiraiya's standard plot or not?"

He hugged her to him for a while, contemplating. Tenten felt a bit like an oversized teddy bear, but decided to allow it. Kakashi had probably not had the kind of childhood that let him play with dolls for very long and she certainly was dressed up like one for today. She lay limp like a puppet with its strings cut, giggling when Kakashi noticed and started manipulating her arms into odd positions.

He then seemed perturbed at her unfastened garter belt and made her reattach it, his warm hand smoothing the stocking up her thigh for good measure. For someone making her put on more clothes than taking them off, he was pretty good at ramping up the sexual tension.

Finally, he said, "I would like… for us to write our own story, Tenten. At the pace you're comfortable with, and mutual respect for each other's desires."

Tenten found herself in agreement. It sounded so reasonable. As if he were not the Sixth Hokage and she an ordinary weapons shop owner and former student of his best friend, with a thirteen year age gap between them.

Oh well. Perhaps he was just having his fun at her expense, but she had a feeling he would be very nice about it later on when they finally ended this farce. She could enjoy herself too.

He was watching her with half-lidded eyes as she lightly traced his lips through the mask with her forefinger.

She had almost made up her mind to start the 'stuff' already, when they were interrupted by a banging on the door that held the unmistakable staccato beat of a Beautiful Green Beast.

"Kakashi! Let us view the falling leaves of autumn together as the sun sets upon the horizon!" Without waiting any further, Gai burst through the door in his wheelchair, stopping short at the sight of his former student perched on the lap of his eternal rival.

"Tenten, why are you wearing one of the dresses I wore on a mission?"

"Ehehe," she scratched her head sheepishly as Kakashi politely helped her to her feet. "It fits me too? Kakashi had such an amazing reaction when you wore it last time so I was trying for the same effect."

"…don't remember… must have blocked it out…" Kakashi mumbled, wincing as he realized where he had seen the dress before.

"Oh, Gai-sensei, you're here to visit Kakashi now? I'll be off then," Tenten tried to leave but Kakashi kept his hold on her arm.

"I'm walking you home," he said.

"Gai-sensei just invited you to go autumn-leaf viewing," she argued.

"Tenten," Gai said. She looked at him. "I would like to walk you home, if you will allow it." He gave a thumbs up at Kakashi. "We can view the autumn leaves another time."

Kakashi let go of her arm and nodded at Gai.

"Same time next week?" Tenten asked.

"Already setting the boundaries eh? Okay," Kakashi humored her. "I'll pick you up at your place."

He waved goodbye to them both as they left.

====/====

It had been years since Tenten had felt like fidgeting like a little kid in front of her sensei. Looking back, though, she had never fidgeted, even when she was a genin. People who didn't know Team Gai thought their sole kunoichi member was the epitome of poise and calm, when Tenten was usually just too exhausted from training to waste energy on excess movement.

There had been moments, sure, when she had been worried if Gai thought badly of her. He had always been unfailingly supportive of her choices, but this was a little beyond the usual for them both.

Gai was quiet, propelling his wheelchair down the street with a serious expression on his face. Tenten kept pace, glancing at him once in a while but not wanting to be the first to break the silence.

"You're wearing my dress to impress Kakashi?"

That didn't sound quite right to Tenten, but it was better than what she had actually been trying to do, which was frighten Kakashi away.

"Yup. We decided to start dating each other." She thought she had better get ahead of things and tell Gai herself before Kakashi had a chance to put his own embellishments on the narrative.

Her former sensei's chair screeched to a halt and he turned to face her in horror, "That man?"

Tenten noticed Gai never enumerated Kakashi's many titles and monikers when referring to him. At most, it had been 'eternal rival' and 'hip and cool ninja' in relation to their constant challenges. And now, it was just 'that man.'

"That man," she nodded. "I've always liked him, Gai-sensei, you know that. But don't worry," she grinned, "It's just pity-dating. We'll go out a few times, then decide we're better off as friends."

Gai stared at her for so long Tenten was afraid he had gone to sleep with his eyes open.

Finally, he moved. He gripped the arms of his wheelchair, then slowly stood up, supporting himself on his good leg.

"Please seal the chair away, Tenten."

Was he going to whoop her ass? Despite her alarm, Tenten complied, sealing the chair into a scroll.

"All right. Now, come help your sensei walk you home."

Tenten ducked under his outstretched arm and supported him with her shoulders. They made a strange, three-legged pair but easily found a rhythm that kept their steps smooth and coordinated. They were teacher and student, after all.

"Now," he still had a somber expression, "You can, of course, date anyone you like. You have many friends even from other villages since we are now on peaceful terms with everyone. You have also travelled extensively to investigate new weapons in different lands and gotten to know civilians in all sorts of fields as well."

Tenten waited, watching their feet make soundless steps on the pavement. She looked up as the street lights began to flicker on as dusk began to settle over the village.

"But you have not been in a serious relationship since Neji died. Even if you were not a couple."

Tenten nodded. At the time, Neji had been focused on becoming jounin and making up for all the time he had lost as a bitter child to become a good older cousin to Hinata and helping his entire clan realize how to improve their treatment of branch members.

It was a long, slow, process, but he was very determined to make the Hyuuga a better clan so there would never be someone like him who suffered the way he did in his childhood. The entire Team Gai supported him, as he had the deepest emotional wounds to heal among them.

Over the years, Hiashi had come to love the Hyuuga prodigy like his own son and Neji had finally felt the love and acceptance he had lost after his father's death. By the end of the Fourth Shinobi War, the entire Hyuuga clan had changed enough so that if one old branch member wanted to join the circus, he was able to do so with their blessing.

"You were a wonderful friend and teammate for him during that time. There was room for romantic love to grow between the two of you eventually, but there was no time during the war."

Tenten felt her eyes growing hot. Gai had never talked to her about this.

It had always been unspoken among the three remaining members of Team Gai that they would allow each other to grieve in their own ways. Lee wept and shared his feelings, Gai waxed eloquent about Neji's heroism, and Tenten had simply agreed with what they said, echoing that Neji had lived and died as a true shinobi.

After a moment, she said, "I've dated people before, Gai-sensei. After Naruto and Hinata's wedding, I tried a few times."

"And then each time, you decided you were better off as friends."

"That's how it turned out somehow," Tenten protested. "And now…" she trailed off.

"Does Kakashi know you are dating him out of pity?"

"What?!" Tenten was not clumsy and she did not trip, but her voice did rise a few octaves higher. "How did you reach the conclusion that I was the one doing the pitying?"

"But of course. You are stunning and elegant and Kakashi is merely dirt beneath your feet."

Gai was probably the only living person with license to describe the Sixth Hokage as dirt.

"He's not… dirt, Gai-sensei. You know what a good person he is," Tenten felt like the most cherished girl in the world with Gai as the bestest sensei there ever was. Her worry about whether Gai thought poorly of her was always baseless. He believed in all of his students unreservedly.

"Of course he is a good person, he is my eternal rival after all. As a specimen of manliness though, he is very inferior and way below your standards."

Tenten wondered how high her standards were supposed to be if it was beneath her to date the Hatake Kakashi.

"Come on, Gai-sensei. If anything, I'm the lucky one for him to take the time of day to even notice me."

"Nonsense. Kakashi has always noticed you. I already had to warn him away a few times in the past when you were too young. He never tried anything after Neji passed away, but since you told me today that you are now dating him, it is obvious to me that you were the one who made the first move."

As she digested this information, Gai continued, "You will have to be careful about Kakashi's heart, Tenten."

They had reached her house. Tenten unslung Gai's arm from her shoulders and faced him, confusion in her expression.

"What do you mean?"

Her sensei harrumphed. "He is unaware he still has one. It has been damaged so many times by his past experiences that he thinks there is nothing left to break. Do not be careless with his feelings."

She was pulled into a tight grip. "And the same goes for you, Tenten. Try to recognize you still have a heart."

She flailed her arms around a little, to no avail. When Gai wished to squash his former students with unlooked-for affection, he squashed.

"Okay! Okay!" He finally released her and she inhaled precious oxygen back into her lungs.

After unsealing her scroll, she assisted him in seating himself comfortably back on the wheelchair.

"I look forward to hearing about the blooming of your relationship together," he gave her a thumbs up.

"We'll do our best!" Tenten found herself saying.

She watched Gai contentedly wheel himself away, wondering what she had ended up promising.

====/====

The next morning, she sat beneath a tree facing Neji's grave. His actual grave marker was some distance away, but she often rested her back against this tree within sight of his final resting place. It reminded her of how he used to sit directly beneath her targets during training with complete confidence that she would never accidentally hit him.

'And so… there,' she concluded her inward narrative to Neji about what had transpired last night. 'Life can take some weird turns, huh?'

She imagined him giving her a look that said he couldn't relate and that she was extremely tactless for pointing out how dead he was.

'Right. Poor choice of words there,' she gave a gusty exhale and stood up, dusting off her pants. She always did have the subtlety of a sledgehammer. 'So, goodbye again for now, Neji.'

She stood for a moment, staring at nothing, feeling...

"Ugh."

She gave in and sighed, lowering her head into her hands.

Grief faded over time. But it would come for a visit, once in a while. She had already identified the triggers. The annual memorial service for those who had fallen during the Fourth Shinobi War. Neji's birthday. Visiting the Hyuuga compound.

She prepared her heart for these times and recognized the grief as evidence of how much Neji had meant to her. Not grieving would have been strange. And she understood it would always be there, and she had learned, like so many others after the war, to live with it.

When the topic of Neji came up unexpectedly though, such as last night, Tenten sometimes took time to process her grief anew. The pain was not as mind-numbing as it had been before, but depending on what was going on in her life, some of the usual emotions associated with loss would arise. Sadness, anger, depression, acceptance.

She thought her pretend conversation with Neji in her head was a good sign she was feeling acceptance at the moment. But who was she kidding? Neji was gone and she was still sad.

A slight cough caused her to raise her head.

Kakashi looked embarrassed. He wasn't stalking her. Probably. He had lost more people in his life, after all, and for as long as she had known him, he could be seen moping in front of the graves of his team mates and his father every so often. He was probably there to visit them.

"Hi," she offered him a smile.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

She paused, considering how she felt.

"I could use a hug," she admitted.

"I could give you one."

She waited.

He waited.

"Hey," she complained. "Was that an empty offer or what?"

"I…" he looked even more embarrassed, "… Maybe I can just shake your hand…?"

"Why are you shy all of a sudden?"

"It's because… Neji is right there," Kakashi mumbled, staring straight ahead.

Tenten looked at the grave, then back at Kakashi.

"Why would he be there? He died a good death." She inclined her head, "I don't think he's hanging around in purgatory with unfinished business. Lee and Hinata and I have prayed a number of times that we hope he is resting in peace in the Pure Land."

"How could we possibly know about the mysterious ways of the world beyond?" Kakashi asked moodily.

"By a number of forbidden jutsus, evidently," she replied. She crossed her arms. "All right, sentimental moment's passed. You lost your chance, Kakashi." She tapped her foot. "Here to visit your own team mates?"

"Ah. Yes."

"Can I come with?"

Kakashi shrugged. He didn't see any reason not to let her accompany him. Unlike Neji, he was very sure Obito and Rin were finally happy together in the afterlife. Obito had personally informed him.

The cemetery had been reconstructed after the entire village had been decimated by Nagato so many years ago. At Kakashi's request, his father's, Rin's and Obito's graves were now placed side by side.

Tenten stood beside Kakashi for a moment and said a silent prayer for the fallen. Then she touched his arm to let him know she was going to let him have some time alone if he needed.

He caught her wrist and kept her in place. They stood a while longer, and Tenten moved closer so Kakashi could lean on her a bit.

After some time, she asked, "Are you ok?"

Kakashi mumbled something that rhymed with 'ugg'.

Tenten sighed again, and embraced him.

====/====

~A Few Moments Later~

"You are too thin. Are you eating enough?" he squeezed her a bit harder to confirm his observation.

"I could say the same," she was a bit alarmed, being used to the extremely muscular forms of Gai and Lee. "I didn't notice last time we hugged, but you're downright skinny."

"I'm lean," he was offended.

"No, no, this is really disturbing, Kakashi," her hands roamed up and down his back, feeling the bumps along his spine. "You probably eat too fast because you're always trying to hide your face from the world. You have to eat more, and slower!"

She pulled back and looked him in the eye. In a tone that brooked no argument, she said, "We are having breakfast. I'll cook this time. Gai is going to beat you with only one leg at this rate."

As she dragged him away from the cemetery, Kakashi took a last glance back and thought he saw two childish figures, a boy and a girl, and a tall figure with the same spiky hair he sported, grinning at him from their grave markers.

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A/N: I am tickled pink that we are at 10 reviews, 10 favorites and 10 follows at this exact juncture. I took a screenshot of the stats for posterity. Well-met, true Tenten fans!

Although, I think everyone has to go into their accounts now and choose the Opt-In Email function that ffnet is currently enforcing. I haven't even gotten an alert for uploading a new chapter to my own story. There's a portion on your Account pages that says: Do you wish to receive notifications via email? Y/N (Email notifications will be sent to account email for updates to followed stories, authors, forums, forum topics, communities and other features. For example, if you followed story A and when A has a new chapter published, we will send out an alert via email. Setting will be auto reset to no/disabled after 6 months.) The Opt-In feature is defaulted to 'No'.

It seems to be the way ffnet is weeding out inactive accounts. How troublesome.

And for the very nice reviewer who specifically requested for a kiss on the mouth, I'm flattered but we hardly know each other. Just kidding. I know what you meant. These two are being particularly persnickety, though. But I'm having fun. Hope everyone else is too.