Steps

By: Sonnie

Kankurou sighed. This really wasn't working. He was simply going to have to kill Shikamaru for suggesting that he masquerade as the male half of an engaged couple…and for selecting the female half. It was because of him that he was stuck here on an unusually temperate day in Suna, trapped indoors with the worst possible task: dancing lessons.

An elaborate mission to Mist, he and his partner needed to mix with the elite society there. Kankurou didn't see the point in such refinement, given that Mist was so poor. Also, why was it so important he had a girl on his arm? After all, he was representing Sand, which was the honest truth. Would they really think he wasn't a ninja if he showed up with a woman?

"For someone really good with your hands, you've got really untalented feet," Kankurou remarked to Tenten, who was currently glaring the equivalent of every weapon she ever threw. Pulling back in his arms, she purposefully ground the toe of her foot into Kankurou's shoe.

"If you don't stuff the comments, one of my untalented feet is going to find your ass," Tenten said sharply.

"Yeah right," Kankurou brushed it off, though he secretly knew her taijutsu skills could mop the floor with him. "You know, for being so good at dancing in clubs you really don't have any skill with real dancing."

"And why isn't it real dancing when I'm doing it at clubs?" Tenten asked.

"Because it's reckless, wild, and wanton," Kankurou said. "That kind of dancing is meant to entice others, which explains why every man in that club was staring at you. What you're trying to learn right now—proper dancing—isn't meant to be a sexual spectacle."

"And why are you such an expert on this?" Tenten demanded.

"I'm an expert when it comes to the art of theatre and dance," Kankurou said proudly.

"And makeup," Tenten grumbled.

"It's Kabuki paint!" Kankurou snapped indignantly. "I shouldn't be accepting criticism from a girl who wears her hair in buns!"

"I don't do that anymore!" she snapped, wrenching out of his grasp. Glaring darkly at Kankurou for a moment, she frowned.

"What's wrong?" Kankurou asked, concerned.

"We're never going to get anything done if we just keep arguing," Tenten said quietly. "Truce?"

Kankurou hid his smile. "Truce."

They shook hands amiably, Tenten's grip very strong considering she had such small hands. Kankurou's, the large, elegant, skillful hands of a puppeteer, dwarfed hers in comparison. He drew his hand away, somewhat regretfully.

"Now…since your footwork is terrible, I think we should start with that," Kankurou said blithely, ignoring her indignant look. In step beside her, he began instruction on a simple box step. Thankfully, Tenten grasped this quickly, allowing him to move on to more advanced aspects.

"This isn't a battle," Kankurou reminded her. "Don't march like that…you need to step lightly and remember that you'll be wearing a dress."

Tenten blinked.

"You know, a dress?" Kankurou said, half-jokingly at the stricken look on her face. "They come in all different lengths…they have no inseam…"

"Why do I have to wear a dress?" Tenten asked him. Dressing up didn't particularly bother her unless there was an actual dress involved.

"It's not very often that women go ballroom dancing in pants," Kankurou muttered dryly. "You can get something nice and non-frilly; it just needs to cover your old ANBU tattoo."

Tenten absently rubbed her left bicep. After joining for a year, she decided to quit and become a regular jounin. She liked going on missions with Shikamaru, who was steadfastly against joining the organization.

To her surprise, he liked her on his team as well, citing her as the least troublesome kunoichi he knew. All things considered though, it wasn't too much of a compliment, seeing as how Ino and Temari were currently driving him towards insanity, urged on by Sakura and a less enthusiastic but no less unwavering Hinata.

"Can it be burgundy?" Tenten asked, smiling.

Tomboy be damned, she's still a girl at heart, Kankurou thought dimly.

"Yes, it can be burgundy," he sighed, shaking his head. "Can we get back to dancing now?"

"Of course," chirped Tenten, obviously pleased with his answer enough to overlook his rudeness.

Setting his shoulders, Kankurou prepared himself for an absolutely brutal afternoon.

-O-

Neji and Lee traveled the streets of the Sand village, the former eager to find his old teammate so she could hopefully negate the latter. Tenten was far more successful at diverting Lee's attention to more useful things, such as anything but himself. Neji felt his patience wearing thin.

"Are you sure this is where Shikamaru said she would be?" he asked Lee, who was currently weaving through the crowds a few steps ahead, gawking at everything like the indiscreet tourist he was.

"Yes!" Lee said, a strong affirmative followed by a pointed finger in the right direction. "In there!"

Neji wondered briefly if he was being punished for something he did in a past life. "Lee…do you think you could perhaps find a blacksmith?" he asked suddenly, hoping to rid himself of his teammate. "I need to find a replacement for my sword guard."

Inspecting the damaged weapon, Lee's eyes widened to even more comic proportions. "Someone was able to damage it?" he asked, his voice full of awe.

Neji blinked, quelling the urge to push Lee into the nearest well. "It was pure luck on their part. Do you think you could find a suitable blacksmith by sundown?"

Lee snatched the sword and gave him a salute before he disappeared in a green blur. Sighing in relief, Neji was glad he left his favorite sword back with Shikamaru and the others. Eyeing the old building that Lee had pointed out, he wondered skeptically why any two sane human beings would be inside.

The sound of Tenten's laughter drew him closer, the sound of another voice made him pause. A male voice, it was not very soft nor did it sound very patient. Footsteps scraped the ground, followed by some criticizing remarks from the male and a hushed chuckle from the woman he knew to be Tenten. Catching a glimpse of his former teammate, Neji paused in the doorway.

Tenten was spinning. Neji noted her footing wasn't very sound and was not surprised when she started to fall. She landed in the arms of a man with sand-colored hair, who lowered her to the ground gently as he knelt behind her, her shoulders landing in his lap.

Tenten was laughing, her brown eyes still wildly unfocused but her mood obviously good. Kankurou peered into her mirthful face with a frown, sandy hair hanging over his eyes.

Tenten's smile disappeared when she noticed his expression.

"What's wrong?" she asked quietly.

Kankurou averted his gaze but they darted back to her face when she reached up to brush the strands of hair out of his dark eyes. Grabbing her wrist, Tenten felt his fingers burn as they held her. She noticed just how close his face was from hers, how utterly romantic the whole situation was—they were dancing…she fell…he caught her…and—

"Tenten."

Snapping out of whatever stupor she was, Tenten rose to her feet, aided deftly by Kankurou who released her as soon as she was upright. Stepping back and turning away, he focused his attention on the walls.

"Neji!" Tenten said happily, face breaking into a smile. She rushed over to him but did embrace him; she had learned long ago he was not someone who liked to be touched. Looking at him with a puzzled expression, she cocked her head to the side.

"Where's Lee?" she asked.

"I sent him on an errand," Neji replied flatly.

"Oh," Tenten murmured.

"I need to report to Shikamaru," Neji said. It went unsaid that he expected her to follow him. It was just assumed she would. He turned to Kankurou. "You can come along if you'd like."

Kankurou visibly stiffened at the condescending words. He wasn't a little boy that could be bossed around by some arrogant, egotistical genius-ninja. Blinking, he felt a smirk slide in place as he took a risky gamble just to piss off Hyuuga.

Casually slipping his arm around Tenten's waist, he smiled to her. "You said you wanted something burgundy," he murmured softly, his lips very close to her ear. "I already have something in mind."

"Seriously?" Tenten asked Kankurou, all smiles.

Neji's eyes narrowed at how quickly Tenten's face lit up. Her head pressed against Kankurou's shoulder as she looked at him.

"Yeah," Kankurou said in a low voice.

"This is actually kind of exciting!" Tenten admitted. "I haven't done something like this before."

Kankurou nodded. Tenten's smile was infectious, just like her laughter, her good moods, her—

Tenten took Kankurou by surprise when she wrapped her arms around him. Temporarily taken aback, he relaxed enough to return the embrace, this time not out of spite towards Hyuuga but out of sheer pleasure. She felt good to hold, being as though she was so much smaller than him and just seemed to fit.

Oblivious the glare of Neji behind her, she slipped out of Kankurou's embrace, only to link arms with him. Together, they walked outside into the sunshine. Neji never realized how odd if felt to be the one following in her steps.