24
„He Is Not Like Him"
Later on, after they've eaten the sandwiches and talked for a bit, Kankuro and Tenten started to prepare for going out. It was going to be their debut as an official couple and the girl was extremely nervous. She was aware her friends would be really shocked, but most likely very, very curious. Godaime had offered to back up a story where the two shinobis have met after the mission for saving Gaara. There were a few times Tenten's team splitted since then, so Gai-sensei and Lee weren't together with her out of the village. The story to tell was Kankuro and Tenten had met on one of those stray missions and were seeing each other ever since. The man proposed they added letters to those dates, to make all of that look more… plausible.
"Are you ready?" the girl asked and nervously tapped her foot on the floor. She tapped her nails on the door's frame too. Waiting wasn't something she loved to do. Her sensei and Lee were just like floozies in front of the mirrors every single time they went somewhere together and she simply hated it. But to think her fake fiancé would be like that as well, came to be a little too much right now.
"Yes, yes, I am ready." Kankuro finally got out of the bathroom and the girl hardly succeeded to hide her disappointment as his face was yet again covered with paint. What if he just didn't put on any? There was a high chance he even looked handsome, since she knew how his face really looked. She pursed her lips slightly in annoyance: I just can't accept a man like a man if he uses more makeup than Ino, she thought. Ino was a standard for time lost in front of the mirror when it was about "just going out ".
Kankuro gazed at her - the girl was wearing simple jeans and sleeveless top, her hair on two bins and an angry face. He couldn't understand why but there was a quick shiver, just like gentle scratching, running down his back skin. The man hoped she hadn't noticed.
"Is there a problem?" he asked.
"Nope," she denied sharply. "No problem."
"All right…"
The man got out, the girl closed the door and locked it.
…
Both of them were walking on the street keeping at least a metre in between. If one of them tried to get closer, the other one was going further away, just like magnets with the same poles towards each other. Even Temari and Shikamaru succeeded in walking close to one another though it was well known they were not even close friends. Those two, anyway, couldn't.
Tenten tried to force her mind to see the young man as a potential boyfriend, but it didn't budge. He was just a stranger. Of course she will try her best to get the task done. Even not try, but do. The girl needed more time to bring herself together. Maybe if they went together on a camping trip in the forest, where they would be alone…? Bullshit! They could be alone in the apartment…
The young man and the girl headed to the place she most often met her friends. They passed through the little plaza Kiba found in Kankuro yesterday. As close they got, as tensed both of them felt. Kankuro wasn't new in dates and relationships with women, but this was different. Tenten didn't go out with him because she liked him or found him sexy. She was going out with him because she had orders to do so, as he did.
Without realising it, Tenten went too far from him and her stomach tightened unpleasantly. And there they all were - she could see Akanaru, so Kiba was there. Yes - Lee also was there, even Naruro. Then someone grabbed her elbow and made her stop. The girl turned to him right away.
"Neji!?" she said, surprised.
Kankuro also stopped and used the chance to get close to her.
"I thought you don't like having dinner with Lee and Naruto?"
"I don't." he nodded, staring at the Sand shinobi with his pale eyes. "But it will be irresponsible of me leaving you with the three of them. Naruto, Kiba and Lee are curious enough separately, together they are more of a pest. No need to mention Kiba has a nucleus of intelligence and it may become dangerous." Neji let go of her elbow and nodded towards the table.
"Neji…" Her smile was full of gratitude, her tone was soft and tender.
Kankuro noticed how her face changed and a trace of jealousy passed through his heart. His consciousness kicked in, reminding he is a foreign person to her. However, the young man wondered if he heard his name from anyone with such a tone, he couldn't remember. And the realisation hit him - he was jealous of Neji. Kankuro was not aware he is capable of jealousy up until now. His relationships with women had been strictly sensual, this one would not work this way.
He coughed to drag their attention:
"It would be best if we go ahead." the man said and put hands in his pockets.
Neji nodded with agreement and headed to the table with the two of them on their sides. Suddenly the pale-eyed shinobi grabbed their hands and forced them together behind his back. The sign was more than clear. Tenten swallowed down and let Kankuro lace his fingers with hers.
...
Naruto's gaze fell straight on their locked hands, the anxiety feeling topped in Tenten, so she let go.
"Hey…" he said, grinning. "Were you just holding hands?" His voice was so loud, there was no chance for Lee and Kiba to skip this. All of them looked at the sand shinobi and Tenten in instant.
"Baaka!" She crossed her arms in front of her chest. The girl failed to hide the redness creeping over her face, at least not right away. Kankuro found that genuinely adorable. Again, his experience according to women was in other directions, also the women he had experience with, hardly were blushing at all. They had other kinds of advantages, though.
Naruto giggled and winked slyly to Kankuro the first chance he got. The sand shinobi stepped forward putting an arm around Tenten's shoulders, grinning.
"You envious?"
Naruto opened his mouth a few times like a fish but couldn't say a word. As he had never thought about it and now couldn't process it.
Kankuro felt the girl shiver under his arm, then he pulled her even closer. He had that strange, sudden and very strong desire to keep her safe, to protect her. Weird, possessive feelings he met for maybe the first time. The man wasn't easily scared, but now he flinched and backed off, putting hands in his pockets.
"Hey, Neji… You never come to dinner with us." Started Naruto, dropping the topic about Tenten and Kankuro. " I am glad you're here now. I think it is nice to see your face every now and then, because I can remember the good times I beated your ass off on that chuunin exam." His smile became even wider.
"Yes," agreed Neji calmly. "But you didn't become a chunin then, did you?" He teased knowing perfectly well what will rail out the blond shinobi. That one was on the same list as the "Sasuke" topic.
The newcomers sat down around the table.
"Aaaaah!" he shouted. "It is not fair, Nejiii! I was not even here when the next exams were held!"
"That's your problem." The pale-eyed replied calmly and started choosing dinner.
Naruto kept shouting for some time more though the rest of the group succeeded in making him stop. And when his ramen came to the table, everything was forgotten while he was eating.
"Tenten, are you all right now?" Lee asked suddenly.
She looked at him surprised, needing a few moments to get the meaning of the question. The girl smiled.
"Yes, Lee, thank you. I am much better now."
"I am glad," he nodded. "Gai-sensei and I got worried. It is very untypical for you to have "female" pains."
Kankuro frowned, ready to ask what he was talking about, when Tenten's arm stretched over the table. Next thing he saw was Lee flying backwards and landing on his back.
"Tenten don't get so angry…" Kiba intervened.
"People are eating, idiot!" She shouted at the fallen boy.
The eyes of the sand shinobi opened wide. She is not joking, all right, he thought amused. Just like Temari… Was his next thought and he felt gloomy, sighing. No one noticed, no one except Neji. He was here in order to notice things…
"Kankuro-san, what brings you to Konoha?" Hinata asked a couple of minutes later. Her voice was quiet, but hearing it, all the other shinobies stopped their conversations.
Lie as little as possible, Gaara had told him.
"I am here on a mission, Hinata-sama." he answered bluntly. "And since I am here anyway, there is no better time to merge two things I would like to… do." He smiled slyly, intentionally using those words, knowing they should cause another blush. Well, he was correct in his judgment. What he didn't predict was the other shinobis, at least most of them, also blushed and they dropped the tries to extract any information out of him. The last one was very fortunate.
When the dinner was over, all the shinobis wished "good night"and left home. Naruto and Kiba headed in one direction. Neji, Lee and Hinata - into another. The two left were still sitting down and each was staring over the other one's shoulder.
"We could go home, if you'd like?" Tenten offered quietly.
The man's dark eyes fixated hers. Home, he thought full of sadness. His home was very far away and he was not going back there for some time. It was not the girl's fault though, so he decided to not pour his anger over her. Well, at least not all the time.
"Ok, let's go." He said in a few more seconds, then slightly smiled.
...
A man and a woman were walking slowly on Konoha's streets and the night sky had started to get dark. They didn't look at each other, but they talked every now and then. While talking, they were trying to decrease the distance between them. I didn't think even walking beside him would be so hard, she yelled innerly.
"Is it so hard to let yourself come closer?" Kankuro asked.
"It turned out to be," she confessed.
He gazed at her. It wasn't hard for him to get closer, but it should feel kind of natural for both of them. He couldn't risk her being as tense as she was right now. The whole situation was more than awkward…
"We can't really deceive anyone with such a distance." He said simply, being honest.
"I am sorry." She said quietly. "I am trying."
Kankuro realised he needed to think of something useful to fill up the time until their departure. And as soon as they went, the better chance Temari had.
"You know that we need to play roles, to pretend." He stopped for a bit. "It is not required to really like or love me. You can imagine I am someone else, that you do like or love."
Tenten sighed, knowing his words sound wiser than she expected.
"There is no one I can replace you with in my images." She said, "And I am not good at pretending."
Then why did Godaime pick you? - he thought but didn't say a word.
"Then you should just find a way to be or to pretend to be comfortable around me."
"You are telling me you don't have a problem with being close to me and pretend to like me?"
He stepped closer to her, grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to him.
"No, I don't. I am a puppet Master, this makes me kind of an actor." Kankuro said close to her ear, making her shiver. Then let go. "I will go to Tsunade-sama tomorrow."
"Why?" She wondered and looked at him, still shivering.
"I will ask for training permission for the village territory. I need to train. I can't afford to lose my shape." He started walking again. "Suna needs me when I am strong. Especially now, when Temari is not…"
Tenten started in his dark eyes, which seemed even darker now. But she got it - he was shinobi, non the less the Kazekage's brother. He was one on the first defence line of Suna. Also she would have gone crazy if she wasn't able to train.
"I will wake you up in the morning and will come with you." She stated.
He frowned and turned his head towards her.
"There is no need to do this. I know where the Godaime office is."
"Yes,"she turned ahead. "I am still going to come with you."
He attempted to say something, but quit, seeing the strange spark in her hazel eyes. Turning ahead again, he smiled slightly.
They kept walking in silence. Tenten stole a gaze and tried to think of something she actually liked about Kankuro. She was shocked when in her mind she saw Neji instead. Kankuro's hair wasn't really long, or soft, but looked more like a brush. His eyes weren't so big and expressive… His facial features weren't as delicate, as… Wait a minute, she flinched and fear creeped into her heart. I was supposed to be over this already?! It can't be true, just can't be! Tenten bit her lips and turned her face aside. She felt guilty, very, very guilty.
Was it possible this could be a reflection of Neji's nicer behaviour towards her? Actually he was never particularly rude to her. Well, years ago, when they started training in the same team, he was arrogant, but that faded away with time. His rudeness was left out for the people outside of the team. Tenten shook her head in disbelief: I shouldn't think that way. He is just helping me, because he is my friend. That's what she stated in front of herself. But there is one thing, I am absolutely sure about - He… - she stole another look from Kankuro - …is not like Him…
