Sink
By: Sonnie
Temari watched interestedly as the Leaf ninja stood in waist deep water, gesturing towards Gaara to join her. The latter couldn't swim; not unusual, given he grew up in the desert. Gaara was staring at the brunette skeptically, standing at the water's edge in a pair of black pants. Tenten smiled patiently.
"It won't bite," she told him gently. Thankfully not sinking to the condescendingly maternal level, the kunoichi managed to slip a rather irritating amount of teasing and chastisement into her voice. Gaara bristled at her tone.
"No."
The redhead attempted to stare her down for a moment, quickly remembering that since Neji was her former teammate no amount of lethal staring would be enough to make her wilt. He settled for crossing his arms over his bare chest and setting his jaw.
"You were the one that requested to learn this," Tenten reminded him with a tiny smile.
"I changed my mind," Gaara told her dully.
"Well, if you're going to be like that, then why don't you have your sister teach you?" Tenten asked him.
"She can't swim either," Gaara said simply.
Temari frowned inwardly when she saw the corner of the brown-haired kunoichi's lips turn up slightly.
"I see," Tenten said sagely, nodding slowly.
"It's really not so bad," Shikamaru commented from his position on the ground, arms bent behind his head as he looked at the sky. "Tenten's a good teacher, Gaara. I can't think of anyone better to teach you. She taught me."
"And you still sink like a rock," Tenten remarked, raising an eyebrow at him and shooting him a mocking grin. "Which is surprising, given how scrawny you are. At least all the other people I've taught can swim."
Shikamaru brushed it off, successfully ignoring her as he returned his attention to the clouds.
"We'll start out slowly, I promise," Tenten reassured Gaara. "Now please, this is going to bother you if you don't learn. And I don't mind doing it, but I might not be there to save you next time."
Kankurou and Gaara had been on a mission with some Leaf ninja when the red-haired Sand nin was knocked off a bridge. He hadn't the time or available land to produce enough Sand to save him from falling; his available sand was aiding his brother and he'd steadfastly refused to abandon him by removing that aid. Tenten had read the fear in his eyes and jumped in after him.
He was thrashing around in panic; she had tried unsuccessfully to talk sense into him before they both drowned. After dragging his struggling body to the shore, she had to fight off several more ninja before she reached Kankurou and reassured him his brother was safe.
Garra frowned at the memory of helplessness before stepping into the water. Shuddering at the cool temperature, he ground his teeth when he noticed that Tenten didn't seem affected.
Damn, why does she seem so well-adjusted to everything Gaara wondered darkly.
Kankurou was watching his brother curiously. The brunette was so patient; then again, with that hyperactive teammate and flat-out bizarre instructor of hers, it made sense. That Hyuuga had also given her a thick skin, which was helpful when dealing with someone like Gaara. He had toned down his disposition after his battle with Naruto, but he was a far cry from even-tempered.
Kankurou's eyes kept darting over to Tenten, whose bathing suit was driving him mad. Far from immodest, the simple cut was enhanced by its brilliant Kelly green hue. Bruises from where Gaara's bony elbows had struck her while he was drowning spotted her chest and stomach, marring the pale flesh. Dark brown hair pulled into a single, high ponytail, it fell between her shoulder blades and ended right above her waist. The ends were dripping water down her back, which disappeared into the surface of the lake.
"Alright, the water out here is about chest deep," Tenten told Gaara, moving further out. "I know it must feel strange, but just try to get yourself acclimated. We're going to start out with learning how to tread water. You won't be able to get anywhere, but at least you won't sink like pineapple head over there."
Shikamaru turned his head towards her and shot her a withering stare before returning to cloud watching.
"Actually, it's his hair that looks like a pineapple," Gaara corrected. "His head is shaped like a cantaloupe."
Tenten laughed, a pleasant noise that made Kankurou frown at how extraordinarily good it sounded. The last thing he needed was to fall in love with a Leaf ninja. Especially her. He wasn't sure what her relationship with Hyuuga was and wasn't anxious to have a stuck-up genius shinobi hunting him down for making a pass at his girl.
Tenten was what to do with her arms while treading water, making sure Gaara was comfortable before instructing him on how to move his legs. Kankurou noticed that Temari was also listening to the instruction. Tenten was a good teacher for Gaara; competent but unthreatening. The idea made him smile.
"What are you so happy about?" Shikamaru drawled.
Kankurou stiffened imperceptibly. He hadn't noticed the other man had shifted his attention to him.
"What do you mean?"
Shikamaru looked him over skeptically. "Why are you smiling at her?"
Busted.
Kankurou shrugged. "I don't know."
"Don't you?" Shikamaru challenged. "She's in love with Hyuuga, you know."
Kankurou exhaled slowly. "Sort of like how Ino is in love with Sasuke?"
Shikamaru frowned. "She's not in love with him and never really was," he said quietly. "When he left, it was Chouji and me she was worried about most. She told me herself."
"Congratulations," Kankurou deadpanned. He knew his sister had feelings for the lazy ninja; feelings that she was really bad at hiding. Temari knew she had competition in the form of Ino, Shikamaru's best friend. Having seen the girl a fair amount of times, Kankurou had to admit the platinum blonde had his sister outclassed in the beauty department.
"I can't tell you how Neji feels about her," Shikamaru told him honestly. "But he's always been less than pleased when she's received attention from men."
"Great, leaving their relationship anywhere between brotherly concern and aggressive possessiveness," Kankurou remarked dryly. "But I plan to nip this one in the bud; I won't entertain any stupid ideas about her being anything more than the occasional teammate."
Shikamaru smirked. "If only it were that easy."
Scowling, Kankurou glanced back towards the water where Tenten was gently chiding Gaara for his choppy motions.
"You shouldn't be splashing so much," she told him. "Treading water is supposed to be easy—you need lots of energy in case you're in a situation where you have to tread water for hours."
If it were possible, Gaara paled. "People have to do that?"
"Yes, though it's hardly pleasant," Tenten said ruefully. "I'll never forget the time Gai-sensei made the three of us compete over who could swim the farthest."
"Who won?" Gaara asked absently, more concerned with how far he was getting from the shore. Not quite getting the hang of it, he was drifting farther from the shore.
Tenten smiled brilliantly. "I did," she said proudly. "Although I hurt like hell the next day. Nejit poked fun at me the next day when we sparred. I was moving slower than a turtle."
Kankurou scanned his memory to recall if he'd ever seen Hyuuga converse with a member of the opposite sex. Once, he'd seen the man talking civilly to his cousin, Hinata, but the conversation was rigid and formal. He'd said a few words in passing to Sakura and Ino, occasionally to Temari, but why was it Tenten he always saw him with the most? It had to be more than the fact they used to be teammates.
While Tenten wasn't bad looking, Sakura had more to offer as far as prettiness, as did Ino. Temari was a stronger fighter, though not by much, Kankurou thought as he recalled several instances during past missions with a grimace. The way she fought was almost…primitive in its simplicity and grace. Obviously this had to factor into why Neji valued her company; of all the people he could train with, he always trained with her. The girl he'd seen kill men with her bare hands wore her hair in Chinese buns nearly every single time he'd ever seen her and was currently standing in a lake in water up to her neck, patient as a saint.
Gaara had tried to touch down again, losing his footing in the loose floor of the lakebed. Catching him before his head went under, Tenten sighed with relief. Her body was touching his and, unused to the physical contact, was as stiff as a board in her arms.
"Want to take a break?" she offered, hoping to diffuse his tension.
Gaara nodded.
Tenten didn't release him until she was certain his footing was sure. Kankurou knew that Gaara hated to be treated so carefully but also knew just how uncomfortable his brother was in water. It naturally worked against his sand and even as a small child, the most water he'd come in contact with was probably contained within a drinking glass. The sand would always clean the dirt from him, eliminating the need for baths or showers.
Gaara reached the shore quickly, looking back in confusion at Tenten. Still standing in the middle of the small lake, she was looking around her as if searching for something.
"You're staying in?" Gaara asked her. His tone betrayed the thought that he found her completely nuts for doing so.
Tenten smiled, one of those maddening smiles that was so guileless and sweet it made her look younger. "Yeah," she told him, waving off his concern. "I haven't gone swimming in ages…I forgot how good it feels. I guess I'm just a big fan of water."
Her face split in a huge grin, she fell back, sighing with pleasure as the cool water touched her skin. She floated on her back for a few moments before diving under and submerging her head.
"Hey, Shikamaru!" she called after she resurfaced. "You should come out here and swim. I won't laugh if you sink, I promise!"
"I'm fine, thank you," he sniffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "The lake's too far away."
"You don't know what you're missing!" Tenten said, shaking her head at his pure laziness. "How 'bout you, Temari?"
Scowling, the blonde shook her head. "I have no desire to swim in that lake like some kind of ridiculous duck."
Rolling her eyes, Tenten could tell by the venomless tone the girl wasn't really troubled. "Kankurou? How about you?"
"Yeah, why don't you go out there?" Shikamaru drawled, raising an eyebrow.
I'm sure you'll float a few seconds before she has to save you," Gaara said gravely.
Kankurou summoned his deadliest glare but said nothing.
"Come on, Kankurou," Tenten reasoned. "You're not even wearing your makeup today!"
"It's Kabuki paint!" Kankurou corrected. "And I'm not going in there."
"You're all so boring!" Tenten yelled. "I swear, if Naruto or Sakura were here they would have beat me into the water!"
"Does Naruto sink too?" Gaara asked curiously. "He doesn't seem like he'd be all that graceful in the water…because he certainly isn't very elegant on land."
"He swims like a fish," Tenten answered.
"That's been tossed out of water and is twitching on the ground," Shikamaru mumbled.
Tenten began swimming laps at a leisurely pace. Even Temari couldn't help but admire the fluid movements. The breaststroke was abandoned quickly in favor of the backstroke, she then began to switch back and forth between the two. An unfamiliar feeling of inferiority seized Temari.
"You're going to look like a prune if you don't get out of that water," Temari told the brunette sharply.
Sighing, Tenten realized no one was going to let her swim in peace or join her themselves, she swam towards shore. Pulling out her hair from the ponytail, she combed her fingers through it lightly. Trying not to pay attention, Kankurou pointedly glanced down, but looked up when he heard Shikamaru's voice.
"Tenten…why?" Shikamaru groaned weakly, rolling over and curling into a ball as the water droplets from Tenten's hair fell directly on his face. She continued to shake her hair, sending water all over the lazy ninja.
"Because you're sitting on my stuff, dummy," Tenten said with a shrug, pulling the towel he was laying on out from under his prone form. Shaking out the sand, she twisted it into a dangerously damp column of cloth. She snapped it after him a few times before wrapping it around herself. Taking a seat on her beach chair, she looked up at Gaara and smiled.
"Just tell me when you feel like getting in again," she said gently.
Mumbling an answer to the effect of an unenthused "sure," he fished around in his bag for his lunch.
Sighing contentedly, Tenten leaned back in her chair and looked over at Kankurou.
"Still sure you want to stay on land?" Tenten asked him with a wry grin.
Kankurou felt something shift in his chest at that damned sincere smile of hers. It was so innocent and kind when she wore it she almost looked like a simpleton. The sparkle in the eyes of every Sand shinobi had been stamped out after years of hardship; the desert was harsh and unforgiving. To see someone who'd lived a similarly difficult life of killing and fighting smile like that was more than unsettling, quite possibly because she actually meant it.
Of all the people Kankurou worked with, she was the exception. Temari, Gaara, Shikamaru and himself were all so similar—they were bored, disinterested, apathetic, and dispassionate. There wasn't a whole lot any of them looked forward to doing, save Shikamaru and his cloud watching. Tenten was always enthusiastic and cheerful without being over-the-top or annoying. She actually enjoyed training and interacting with others.
The last thing I need to do is to fall in love with someone who can't fall in love with me, Kankurou thought, before shaking his head no, he would not be joining her.