Hi everyone. If you haven't read or watched Rock Lee's Springtime of Youth, I highly recommend doing so before reading this chapter and the one that will follow. I took inspiration from the layout and the overall feel of RLSY, which is different from what we usually do here. That being said, enjoy. I look forward to hearing from you all. PS: I finally fixed up the comic I made of "The Run" on deviantart (same tag ponchoninjax3). Check it out if you have time, and I'm open for taking suggestions of other scenes you all would like to see illustrated.
Neji squinted up at the roof of the Hokage's mansion as his teammates ate their lunch around him. His udon was going cold as he focused all his attention on reading the lips of Beki and Gaara eight kilometers away.
"Neji, your food is getting cold," Tenten knitted her brows in concern. "Is something the matter?"
"Whatever it is, it isn't as important as your health," Might Gai flashed him a smile. "A shinobi's youth is retained through both exercise and good nutrition. You'll never grow up handsome and strong like me if you skip meals!"
"Apologies," Neji deactivated his Byakugan and picked up his chopsticks. His fears had been confirmed. The acquaintance Tsukimori had formed with the Kazekage was quickly gaining momentum and tomorrow night they were planning to go on a date. Neji knew that it was none of his business, however with Hinata's mission delayed Beki was operating without guidance. Had Hinata been privy to all this, she probably would have advised Beki to take things more slowly, so in a way Neji was just acting as Lady Hinata's advocate.
Objectively, the Kazekage fell within the standards an ambassador's daughter should hold, but Neji had reservations. Although he had turned over a new leaf, the Kazekage had a tumultuous past and a violent streak a mile wide. His village had only a few years before teamed up with the Sound and attacked the Leaf, so Suna didn't seem like such a friendly welcoming place. As much as she liked to hide it with a boisterous front, Neji had seen Beki's vulnerable side during the flour coated kage incident. She had been scared as a child that day and Neji worried that a relationship with the Kazekage would drag into unwanted attention and scrutiny from not only Suna, but Konoha and her own village as well. If she was a spinster like Tsunade he would probably keep his concerns to himself but she was young and had lots of opportunities ahead of her. He had to stop this train before it left the station and as he watched Lee enthusiastically plow into his curry Neji knew he was looking at just the whirlwind for the job.
"It's just that I'm worried about our friend Gaara," Neji slurped up a noodle as the three snapped their attention to him.
"What's wrong with him?! IS HE IN DANGER?!" Lee almost upset the table as he slammed his hands down on either side of his plate.
"He isn't in danger, its just that…" Neji shook his head. "It's none of my business. Nevermind."
"Come on Neji," Tenten leaned closer. "You can't just say something like that and leave us all wondering."
Neji heaved a heavy sigh and motioned for them all to move in closer.
"It seems Beki has caught his eye."
"Really?!" Gai sensei shook his head and scoffed. "That girl just won't stop beating on the poor man!"
"Not like that, Gai sensei!" Tenten rolled her eyes with enough force to dislodge them from their sockets. "He means that Gaara is interested in her. Romantically, I'm assuming?"
Neji nodded solemnly.
"I hate to admit it but I was watching him ask her on a date just now," Neji looked over his shoulder before he continued. "She's such a firecracker."
"You're worried he's not equipped to handle her?" Tenten folded her arms as she thought.
"Not to make assumptions but I don't believe the Kazekage has much dating experience to begin with," Neji sighed. "Beki is the daughter of the Getsugakure ambassador and although she's very good natured-"
Tenten's eyes widened as it clicked.
"If he were to do something really strange it could cause an international incident!"
Neji nodded.
"Exactly, and after Beki's flour incident-"
Gai's eyes narrowed and his voice dropped menacingly low when he spoke:
"It would seem like retaliation."
Fire burned in Lee's eyes as he punched the air enthusiastically.
"We have to help him!"
"But how?" Tenten's brows knit with concern once again. "We can't exactly tail them the whole time and hold cue cards of what to say for him…"
"This will all depend on you, Tenten," Neji eyed her seriously. "Hinata is out of town, so Beki undoubtedly has had to keep all this to herself. If you go to her with the pretense of offering a friendly ear she will probably reveal lots of valuable information on how we can help."
"I will talk with Gaara!" Lee smiled confidently. "I will assure him that this will be the best first date ever!"
Neji nodded. If there was any surefire way to see this date crash and burn it was to let Lee take control. Now that he had planted the seeds the rest of his squad would stack the deck against the Kazekage. What about Beki? Neji thought. It would be one thing if the date headed down a bad path, but perhaps if he triggered certain undesirable behaviors in his family's ward the Kazekage would have no interest in a follow up. Neji sighed. That would have to be his job. He would work in tandem with Tenten and Lee to make sure whatever harebrained schemes they came up with set off Beki's slow to build but explosive temper.
…
Beki stood outside the one clothing store in Konoha that dared to cater to younger women. It was the end of the month and her funds were limited, but she desperately needed something to wear to dinner tomorrow. The challenge today would be to find something that was tasteful and that didn't look like it came off of a bargain rack. She took a deep breath and rolled up her sleeves. In towns where all the young women were forced to shop from the same store flying elbows and territory disputes came with the territory.
"Beki chan!"
She turned in confusion to face the approaching kunoichi. Tenten was hardly ever on her own, and when she was it wasn't often she sought out Beki's company. Hinata was out of town, however, and since Hanabi hadn't apologized yet Beki was completely isolated from any sisterly advice.
"Hi Tenten," Beki smiled at her. "What's up?"
"Oh, nothing, it's just," Tenten scratched her head. Why would she be approaching Beki by herself? "We got out of training early and I know Hinata's been gone a few days so I wanted to check in on you."
"Well that's sweet of you, Tenten," Beki's smile widened. "Wanna help me shop for an outfit?"
Perfect! Tenten thought. This is the best way for me to pry about her date without seeming nosy!
"An outfit? For what?" Tenten blinked innocently as she walked into the store with Beki.
"I…" Beki weighed how much she could safely tell Tenten. "I have a date tomorrow night."
Tenten clapped her on the back a little too enthusiastically. Beki smiled at her uncomfortably as she rubbed the spot.
"Good for you! Who is it?"
"Well, it's just a first date, so I don't want any gossip going around," Beki grumbled. "God knows I'm the rumor mill's favorite subject."
"Oh, I didn't mean to pry!" Tenten held up her hands defensively. "It's just that would help me help you pick an outfit. I know just about every boy in town and uh, what they're weak to, you know?"
Beki squinted and gave her the side eye:
"What do you mean, what they're 'weak' to?"
Tenten's eyes widened and she stammered as she tried to cover herself:
"You know, some men are more into, um, legs, and some boys like, uh, they like-"
"Boobs?" Beki offered.
"Yes! They like boobs!" Tenten sighed with relief. "You know what? Never mind. I'm sure you know what you want to wear but, uh, what's…what's his favorite color?"
Beki stared at her hands. She hadn't asked him his favorite color. That seemed like the sort of thing you should talk to someone about before Orochimaru murdering you parents came up. Dammit! Beki thought. I've screwed up the order again. It seemed fairly obvious what Gaara's favorite color would be, but she didn't want to make assumptions.
"I think he likes…red?"
"Red it is!" Tenten started shuffling through the racks.
"Uh, Tenten?" Beki eyed her hard.
"What?" Tenten was holding up a pretty ruby colored ruffly blouse.
"Try bigger," Beki pointed at the sign above the rack that designated what size clothes were on the rack.
Tenten had been shuffling through the women's size small rack. She laughed nervously.
"Of course! With your muscular shoulders you're definitely a medium!"
Beki's eyes were shadowed out and she sighed nervously.
"Try bigger, Tenten."
Tenten took a cautious step towards the size large clothes. When Beki said nothing in response, Tenten began rummaging through it.
"Wow, there isn't a lot to work with in clothes this size," she scoffed and then caught herself. "No! Beki! I didn't mean you! I mean they don't have enough options!"
Beki pressed her lips into a thin line and silently began going through the meager offerings in the large sized women's clothes. Most of the options were for the wrong season, in unflattering colors, or patterned loudly.
"Maybe we can go back to your place and put together something from what you already have?" Tenten offered meekly.
"I tried that, Tenten, but all my clothes are out on loan." Beki glowered at the rack.
Tenten blinked.
"Wait, Beki, you lend your clothes out to Sakura, Hinata, and Hanabi. How does that…?"
"It's my shoulders and back, Tenten," Beki gestured across her collarbone. "Since I started practicing with my dad's kanabo I've bulked up a bit. The only shirts that still fit me in a medium are the ones that are sleeveless or open backed."
"Oh," Tenten hadn't had many chances to hang out alone with Beki and she felt like she was failing her at a critical juncture. She grappled with what she could say to save the situation but before she could speak Beki had moved to the next aisle and began going through the extra-large options. There were a few more options in that size and Beki picked up pomegranate colored dress and a crimson colored one.
Tenten saw her chance to redeem herself and sprang on it:
"Those are pretty! Which one are you leaning towards?"
"Well," Beki mused. "He wears red all the time, so I think this one?"
She held up the pomegranate colored dress and wiggled it a little. Tenten looked at Beki next to the dress. More than once Tenten had seen Beki with a definite blue tone to her skin, especially in the mornings and late at night when she was tired and pallid. The purple undertones complimented her skin and made her look warm in comparison. At the same time, Gaara only ever wore red and would probably take it as a compliment if Beki wore his favorite color on their date.
"Isn't his favorite color red, though?" Tenten pointed out.
Beki eyed the red dress. It was a very pretty color but Beki recalled a certain photo her father kept in his wallet of when Beki had gotten ahold of the Mizukage's scarlet lipstick and smeared it over her face. She had looked like a murderous clown in that shade.
"Won't it be weird if we're matching on a first date? Try hard much?" Beki gave Tenten an unsure look.
"No, I think it's kind of cute." Tenten smiled back at her with false confidence. She really hoped Gaara wouldn't think Beki was mocking him.
Beki sighed:
"Red dress it is."
Tenten followed her to the checkout and prayed that she had led Beki down the right path.
…
Gaara resisted the urge to fly back to his hotel room after the meeting ended. As much time as that would save, it would be rude to fly through Konoha when the inhabitants weren't used to it the way everyone was in Suna. He had used all of his willpower to focus on the meeting but now that he was free all he could think about was his lunch with Beki. This was the time he could spend analyzing the entire conversation to try to plan for their date tomorrow. The Kazekage took a deep breath. He had a dinner date tomorrow with an attractive and sweet girl. If that wasn't terrifying enough Gaara would have to work with her father regardless of the outcome. Caution would be key, he decided-
"GAARA SAMA!" Lee stopped just short of barreling over the Kazekage. Gaara had reflexively formed a sand shield in anticipation of the impact. Once the threat had passed, the sand receded back into his gourd.
"Yes, Lee?"
"I heard from a trusted source that you're going on a date with Beki," Lee's volume could hardly be described as a whisper, however it was much quieter than his usual enthusiastic belt. "She has lived in Konoha for some time now and is good friends with everyone on our team. Team Gai would like to offer to help you with this date!"
"How do you mean?" Gaara folded his arms out of habit.
"We are prepared to help you plan and execute the perfect dinner date with Beki!" Lee saluted. "We call it 'Operation Summer Wind!'"
It had occurred to Gaara as he had been walking that even though he had exchanged several deep conversations with Beki he had no idea what kind of food she liked, what her favorite color was, or any sort of personal information that he could use in consideration of planning their date. Team Gai's experience with her could prove to be invaluable in that regard.
"Thank you," Gaara nodded. "I would appreciate the help. Where do you recommend I take her to dinner?"
Lee shook his head enthusiastically.
"No, that's not how we should approach this. Each stage of the date needs to accomplish a goal."
Gaara gave him a slightly puzzled look.
"We eat so we are not hungry. Isn't that accomplishing a goal?"
"The point of the dinner is to give you a chance to have a conversation with your date," Might Gai leapt out of the bushes with a flourish. "But you are the Kazekage. You can do better than just conversation. Dinner should be an opportunity for you to demonstrate that you are caring and considerate."
"We will set up an opportunity for you to demonstrate your compassion during dinner," Lee fist pumped the air.
"Then you should take her to a movie!" Neji jumped out of the bushes opposite the ones Gai had leapt out of. "Some people would recommend you go see a romantic comedy, but Beki is not the romantic type. She responds to strength and survival skills."
Lee nodded and then looked at Gaara.
"Don't worry Gaara sama, even though Beki is a tough customer we will guide you to success!"
Gaara had already been slightly preoccupied with the date the next evening, however after talking to the members of Team Gai he began to suspect it was even more daunting than he had originally believed. He appreciated their help. Based on their feedback, everything he had been considering would have ended in failure.
…
Ebisu was riding on Beki's last nerve. He had sent some genin to her house late the previous night to let her know their training had been pushed up to 7 AM. She had slept poorly the night before due to her anxiety over her date that night, not to mention she kept imagining someone was throwing pebbles at the house. Hinata hadn't been sent away on a mission for this long since Beki had come to stay with her and the quiet in the house was affecting her mind. As she squared off against her sensei for hire, she found her focus was off and her reaction times were almost halved. She saw that he was coming in for a strike to the face so Beki prepared to block it but her arms just wouldn't respond quickly enough. Ebisu saw that his blow was going to connect too late for him to redirect it, so instead he opened his hand so she was struck with a palm instead of a fist.
Beki stumbled for a moment and then lost her balance, collapsing on to her side on the grass.
"What is with you today?" Ebisu loomed over her with his angry teacher pose. "Your performance today is atrocious!"
"I didn't get any sleep, sensei," Beki rubbed her face where he hit her. It wasn't the hardest she'd been hit during training but this was going to make her face swell. Great, she thought. One more reason why I'm going to look like hell tonight.
"Get it together, Tsukimori. You'll be twice as tired on a mission and the enemy won't show you any consideration-"
"I've got it, sensei," Beki barked in reply as she groggily got to her feet. "I'm done for today. I need to go home and try to get some rest."
"Training isn't over until I say it's over!" Ebisu grabbed her by the shoulder. "You can't just run from adversity-"
Her skin went ice cold and clammy in his hand. Ebisu's eyes shot up to her face and were greeted with the hollowed out visage of a corpse.
"Sensei, I'm REALLY tired."
He instinctively let go of her arm and took a step back.
"Just this once. Next time we train we'll train twice as long to compensate."
Beki nodded and trudged away awkwardly. As he watched her stumbled a few yards away, Ebisu shuddered. He had heard that Beki's kekke genkai had recently started to activate itself. In all his years as a shinobi he had seen some terrifying and ugly things, but looking into her face just now was like glimpsing at death itself. With a modicum of shame, he wiped his hand on his flak jacket. It was time for him to do some research into her family's kekke genkai.
…
"NEJI KUN!" Lee called over the wall of the Hyuga compound.
The gate opened and Neji stumbled out as haggard as a cadaver.
"What happened? You aren't sick are you?! YOU NEED TO POWER THROUGH IT. YOU NEED TO DO IT FOR GAARA!" Lee shook him violently until Neji slapped him away.
"I'm fine. I just…didn't sleep too well." Neji knew from personal experience Beki always looked terrible when she was tired. He had sacrificed his own night's sleep to flick pebbles at her window from a few hundred feet away every hour or so the entire night. Once she left for training, Neji had been able to catch up on a few hours of sleep but not nearly enough.
"Alright!" Lee smiled. "It's time to implement Operation Summer Wind!"
…
Beki had managed to catch a few hours of sleep but the sun creeping through the blinds kept her from achieving any true rest. She dragged herself out of bed and took a long hot shower. After she dried off, Beki used her best lotion so she smelled nice, and then went into her closet and pulled out the red dress. She still had reservations about the color but it was too late to change her mind now. There was no wind that day and it was kind of warm so Beki decided she was safe not to wear shorts underneath the knee length dress. A quick peek in the mirror had confirmed that even an extra five hours of sleep couldn't fix the swelling in her cheek and the bags under her eyes. To boost her confidence, Beki picked out a lacey electric blue thong and put on a matching bra. She threw the dress on quickly to make sure that the bra wouldn't show through and to her relief the fabric was thick enough the panty lines didn't show through. She had a quick snack to hold her off until dinner and then started putting on her makeup. The same way the sleep didn't fix much the makeup didn't make much of a dent in how tired she looked.
After giving up on looking fresh and bright, Beki pulled on her dress, fixed her hair, put on her shoes, and walked out the door. She caught Hanabi creeping a peek at her from behind a corner as she walked out the gate. The sooner Hinata gets back, the better, Beki thought as she walked out onto the main road.