Tenten dejectedly looked up at the tall building in front of her. She tried to will her feet to take a step forward, but they stood rooted to the spot. A grimace graced her face as she recalled the exact moment she received the assignment…

It was a beautiful day, she had just finished her training out in the field and was going to get a hearty meal with Sakura. Nothing beats some endorphins releasing workout then stuffing her face with great food. But any thought of having an enjoyable meal vanished when the summons came. Tenten looked up to bemoan the ill timed summons when something caught her eye. As if Mother Nature was foreshadowing her fate, a big grey rain cloud was slowly rolling in. An ominous feeling crept up on her.

'It can't be that coincidental…right?…'

BOOM

The floodgates opened and the rain poured down. Within seconds Tenten was soaked to the bones. Bangs stuck to her forehead, slightly covering her eyes. Now she knew within her very core that nothing good was going to come with this meeting.

Next thing she knew, she was standing before the Hokage and Shizune, dripping water onto the floor. A puddle was already forming. They both had their head slightly tilted as they looked at her. They were both concerned, but for different reasons.

Shizune spoke up first. "Tenten, can I get you a towel?" Shizune was already making her way to a corner cabinet.

"Oh this? Just a little water. I'll be fine." Tenten declined with a weirdly optimistic smile.

"You called, Hokage-sama?"

Tenten could sense the smile behind his mask as she waited for him to tell her the reason behind her summons.

"Yes…well, looks like you'll need this." He threw something at her. Her reflexes kicked in and she caught the object. Her eyes turned to saucers as she realized what she was holding.

'What have I done to deserve this? I've been a good person. Pay my taxes…did I? I finish my food and don't waste. I'm nice, aren't I? Why does bad thing happen to good people? Why me?'

She held back her strength as to not break the thing.

'Didnt I burn you last time? How did you come back? Watch what I'll do to you this time'

Her eyes glared at the rectangular nameplate. A reminder of her hellish time in this office. All the suffering she went through.

"Um…Tenten, it'll only be for two weeks again as I go on a disaster relief mission." Shizune softly said as she draped a towel over the younger girl's shoulder. She tried to comfortingly pat the girl's back to soften the blow. She saw the girl secretly burn the old nameplate and wondered what traumatic thing happened while she was away. That wasn't enough to consider anyone else as her replacement though. The amount of work that got done with Tenten around far exceeded her expectations. The little guilt she felt towards Tenten was glossed over with all the time she saved.

Tenten shook Shizune's hand away and straightened herself up. She took a deep breath in and calmly fixed her bangs. A big smile lit up her face.

"I look forward to working together. Please take care of me!" She did an overly dramatic bow before straightening and walking out the door, head held high. Dripping water all the while.

"Ten…the to-….never mind" Shizune didn't even bother finishing her sentence. She turned her eyes onto the Hokage.

"Please be nice this time, Hokage-sama."

"I'm always nice!" He actually sounded serious.

xxxxxxx

'Ok, Tenten, you got this. You lived through it once. You can definitely do it again. Just two weeks, that's seven days. There's today and first days are usually chill. It'll be over quick. Ah, who are we kidding. Being the assistant isn't a walk in the park. There's no real break. How to get the Hokage to work…he already read Icha Icha…think Tenten, think. What will mo-'

"Coming in?" A voice disrupted her thought. The very person she was dreading had somehow shown up as if her thought conjured him here. Plastering a 1,000 watt smile on her face, she nodded enthusiastically.

"Right behind you. I even got the bread you like!"

His eyes traveled to the bag in her hand. A soft rustling sounded as she waved it about. He wondered if she secretly plotted this, knowing how he gained a few pounds the last she worked here. All the delicious damn bread she kept feeding him. Who could possibly resist the fresh baked bread with the soft pillowy interior and slight fragrance of melon. Even the light green color was appealing.

'She's definitely doing it on purpose. Trying to butter me up for more work. Not this time. She got nothing holding me down!'

His eyes crinkled as he silently acknowledged her nice gesture. He turned and walked towards the tower with her trailing behind.

Kakashi smiled as he sat down at his desk. Sure, there were piles of paperwork to get through, but who's going to force him. Shizune was gone. Like gone gone. In another village and not just down the street. She left Tenten, who, by the way, didn't have any more items to leverage or bargain with. He was essentially on vacation for the next two weeks. The more he thought about it, the merrier he became.

He watched as Tenten settled in and go through the files on her desk. A sinister smile slowly bloomed on her face.

'What is she plotting? She's bluffing. There's nothing.'

Tenten got up to prepare tea. She remembered his preference and slid two rolls onto a plate for him. The rain cloud inside her now replaced with a happy sun again.

"Hokage-sama, your morning tea and bread. Shizune left a mountain of things for us to get through. Eat up, you'll need your energy."

"Thank you, but I can't be bothered today. I've already made plans."

"What kind of plans?"

"There's a hammock with my name somewhere. The paperwork can wait till Shizune comes back. You enjoy the next two weeks off."

Tenten giggled. Like she just heard the funniest joke. She nodded along.

"Oh, Hokage-sama, you're so funny. If that didn't work the first time around, what makes you think it'll work this time? Let's be honest, can we be honest with each other? It's me. We'll get the work done just like last time."

"Nooooooo. Tenten, pleaseeee, just leave me alone." He pleaded as one hand brought the bread to his mouth. Such delicious melon bread. 'Yup, I'm going to gain weight. Mmmm, there must be drugs in these…'

"I didn't want to do this, but you've left me no choice." He narrowed his eyes at her, waiting to see what trump card she would play. Tenten pulled a Polaroid out of her pocket and handed it over. The bread fell out of Kakashi hand with a thud.

"Wha-how-what is this?!"

Tenten couldn't contain her smile as she replied "I don't know, it was in an envelope Shizune left me. She marked it 'For emergency only.' Seems like an emergency to me. Hahaha"

Kakashi stared at the picture. Right there in front of him was a picture of him along with some of his friends.
Gai…
Iruka…
Genma…
All there.
Happy and drunk.

The only thing was…they were in the hot spring sans clothes. This copy had flower stickers strategically placed over any x-rated body parts.

"She also left this note…" Tenten slid the post-it over.

*Tenten, if you run into any trouble, please use this to persuade the Hokage. We wouldn't want the original copy to accidentally get out.

Take care!
Shizune*

Kakashi read the note over and over.

'*This again! They're all in cahoots with each other. Damn Gai and his persistence. I told him it wasn't a good idea. I'm ruined now! My vaca-*'

"What are you doing?!" He snatch the Polaroid back from Tenten. He didn't even know when she took it again. But there she was trying to peel the stickers off to peek!

Tenten gave an innocent smile and sheepishly scratched the back of her head.

"Nothing, I wasn't doing anything. It fell so I picked it up, is all. Ha…well then…I'll get back to work and you do too." She slowly backed away as he gave her shooting daggers through his eyes.

A burning fire of anger was lit in Kakashi's belly. He felt as though his head was a blazed. And smoke shooting out of his ears. It wasn't surprising that the picture in his hand went up in smoke, no trace left behind. Tenten kept her head down as she mourn the loss. She silently berated herself. Wondering why she didn't lift the stickers before handing the picture over. That was, everyone's flower except for Gai-sensei. No need to see what was there and mentally scar herself for life. It's bad enough she grew up around the green suit that left little to the imagination. With that thought, she gave a little shudder and got to work.

xxxxx

A/N: This one is for Sandataba. Tenten-Kaka Crackship unite!