Konoha was taking a defensive phase mode thing which was pretty understandable after what happened to Tayuya. A defense barrier jutsus were set up around the village, and numbers of jonin and chuunin were sent out to retrieve information about what they could and those who stayed behind were also sharply alert, always on edge which in overall was a very good characteristic for a shinobi on duty but a poor characteristic as a shinobi who were off duty. They were pretty much all moody and no one even wanted to go near the majority of the jonin and chuunin population.
These were all - of course - excluding Tayuya.
She was a jonin, yes… but then again, she was training under Kakashi… one of the most random people on the planet.
Well… at least he had a legit excuse for keeping her out of this, this time. He told her to cool off her head and that meant do not get involved in these things… although it was a bit too difficult to cool off her head when the whole mess was practically about her and a two other people… in which it meant one-third of the problem was caused by her and it was probably more like one-half anyway because of what happened after she tried to run away from Konoha…
When one was in a state of self-blaming, it's hard to just leave it and "cool off."
But Kakashi was so adamant about it and Tayuya thought she should listen to him… for once. Although most of the time he forced her to do what he wanted her to do anyway. And plus, she was tired. Although she felt the strong need to do something about it.
In the past week she had gotten out of the hospital and took care of Kakashi's team, Tayuya was surprisingly more… easy-going. Not as far as gentle yet but she was mild enough that the newbie Team Kakashi began to develop a liking for her, and inadvertently, Tayuya began to appreciate their existence.
She knew that force was not good enough to bring out the best in a person but as she watched the ninjalings develop so vigorously in a short week with her specific and almost patient instructions, she could actually feel the truth with her skin.
Because the bumbling Honda managed to cut her arm somehow.
It was a very minor cut but to even touch a jonin during battle - or a training in this case - was a big deal to rapidly developing genin.
Normally, Tayuya would have exploded in anger and would have beat his ass but miraculously, she didn't feel the urge to do so.
Had she changed after all?
"Well, that's it for today, I guess…" Tayuya said, settling on a tree branch with a grace of a cat.
"That was boring…" Honda commented.
"Well… damn right it was… it wouldn't be so fucking hard to master if it wasn't so boring…" Tayuya said.
"Hmm? What's boring? A sensei must never admit that a lesson is boring…" Kakashi said, turning up under the tree somehow.
Tayuya almost fell of the tree.
God damn that fucking sneakiness!
The genins echoed her thoughts with words although not so profanely.
"What the hell! When did you get here?" Masato said, slightly surprised.
"Can't you just approach like a normal person?" Haruko whined.
"I thought I did… my ninja mode must be still on…"
"Not funny at all… I think we'll get going. We were going to get some ramen or something…"
"Can your sensei come?" Kakashi asked, hopefully.
"Hell no! The last time you came with us, all of us ended up with a stomachache because you squeezed in wasabi in our food. We're never entering any restaurant with you ever again." Haruko said.
"Oh," He said, understandingly as if he expected that answer. He probably did. "Half of that blame goes for you guys too… how do you not notice?"
"That doesn't matter!"
The genin walked off.
"Wow… you just happen to have a kickass reputation here…" Tayuya said.
Kakashi smiled. "I know."
"Did you really do that?"
"Hm?"
"Put wasabi in their food?"
"Yes."
Tayuya laughed. "What the fuck is your problem?" She asked.
"They need to take precaution with me… I was training them, after all…"
"…… Train how to survive the taste of wasabi in their mouth? They clearly survived considering that they didn't even notice…"
"No, training on detecting foreign movements. Like when I reached for that wasabi, they should've known."
"What food did you order?"
"Sushi."
"How the fuck are they supposed to tell what you were up to, then?!" Tayuya said.
"I don't know… somehow."
"……… You're a fucking dumbass…." She said, but her amused and almost friendly tone contradicted with her rather offensive language.
And Kakashi was pretty used to her talking to him this way.
For some reason, her disrespect for him was not all too bad. It actually felt nice. Everyone else that were trained under him usually called him "sensei" or "sempai," giving him high respect (except his previous Team seven consisting of three very disrespectful ex-genin - a.k.a. Naruto, Sasuke, sometimes even Sakura), and following his commands without a question. Never had he trained a single kunoichi with such a dirty mouth and such a rebellious temper.
But she was kind of cute anyway like that… of course as a student… or… she was not exactly a student… Well…
"How long are you going to be out?" She asked him.
"Hmm?" He answered as if he was interrupted from a deep thought.
"I said, how long are you going to be leaving those kids to me? They're your students, and I have no clue what type of jutsu they're talented in or anything like that…"
"Just do what you can."
"That doesn't answer my question!" Tayuya said, impatiently. "I know that there is this damn mission thing up to somehow deal with the new Sound Four… but I don't want to sit here and watch kids while they take action… it's my fault after all…"
"No it's not," Kakashi dismissed her self-blame as if he was just correcting a person who had the wrong date on a homework assignment.
"What the hell do you mean, 'no it's not'? Do you think it's that simple? Jesus fucking christ, you're so inconsiderate!"
"I'm not being inconsiderate here; you have the wrong idea. You are exactly what they want. Putting you up front in this matter is just a bit too much like laying a fresh fish right before a hungry cat's paws. And by the way, the fish is tired and hungry so it can't even splash back to the lake nearby. You are not even in your full-health here. You have to think things through more, Tayuya… You can't just irresponsibly try to be responsible, especially over something that isn't your fault," Kakashi thought he had her convinced.
"My ass, old man!"
Never mind.
"Don't sit here lecturing me! I know you saved me but what the fuck do you mean with that fish shit?? I'm not a fucking helpless, tired, hungry-ass fish bouncing around! And if I was a damn fish, I'd bite the fucking cat's head off!"
Kakashi sighed. "It's for your own good… and mine. I'm going to get in trouble if the medics know that you tried to do something reckless."
"I'm sick of this shit…" Tayuya said, her shoulders slinking down "I'm not a fucking kid anymore."
Kakashi looked over to his whining apprentice. "We know that," He said.
"I'm not used to people treating me like some kind of a fragile porcelain or something."
"But at least you're not a fragile porcelain… far from it, actually…"
Tayuya glared. "Shut up…"
Kakashi kind of expected it… sort of. Instead of coming up with an argument, he pat her head as if he was patting an adored puppy. "It's okay. Things will get better soon…"
The feel of his hands on her head was reassuring. It brought comfort and warmth to her heart although his hands were only on top of layers of strawberry-colored hair slightly damp with sweat from previous training. She liked the feeling a lot.
"Don't touch me," She said, although she didn't really mean it.
Kakashi stopped the patting but didn't remove his hand from her head. There was a moment of hesitation and somewhat like a contemplation before he let his hand drop on the grass.
Although he looked away, Tayuya didn't look away from him. He was a pleasant figure to look at. Sure he was thirty-something - she wasn't sure - but that didn't degrade his beauty any more than that mask did. But she wished he'd remove the damn mask.
He looked so much better without it.
She knew this.
Not many people knew but she did.
How could she not?
But Tayuya caught herself before she drifted off into her stupid little world again.
She was not to think about that…
It wasn't like he had a choice…
Unless he did but how could he have?
It wasn't like he wanted to kiss her… it was to release her from a genjutsu… right?
Kakashi suddenly turned his head towards her. "You can have a day off tomorrow if you want to, by the way…" He said, yawning at the end.
"Huh?"
"I guess I'll take what you said into consideration and train the three of them," He turned back to his previous state.
"That was unexpected…"
"I know."
"Are you suddenly drunk?"
"No."
"Are you high?"
"Only if you think so."
"What the fuck??"
"I don't know."
"No, seriously… what the hell is making you say that all of a sudden… I'm confused as hell."
"I have nothing better to do until-" He cut himself short. "I mean… I guess I've decided…" He got up and picked on the leaves of the tree. "That you need a bigger break than I thought… you should get some therapy or something tomorrow… and finish cleaning my library…"
"Why?"
Kakashi shrugged. "See if that changes your pessimism."
"It won't."
"Give it a try. I don't always give out holidays, you know…"
Tayuya sat there, blinking. "You're weird…"
Kakashi shrugged. "I guess I am a bit weird." He stopped twirling the leaves. "Well, since I'm done counseling you, I need to go do something important."
"You do that…"
Kakashi walked away.
Tayuya stayed.
So another day passed pretty uneventfully.
To tell the truth, it was nice.
But when she dug deeper, it bothered her till no end that she was doing absolutely nothing to help her home or anyone in that matter. If only she knew where they stayed…
But what was she going to do?
Sakon was much powerful than her.
And it still was not in her heart to kill him.
Her mind accepted the fact that he was clearly her enemy but her heart would not stop hoping that he wouldn't… that he would… maybe…
But that was impossible.
Whether she loved him or not… it was impossible to change him. He gave plenty of hints during the time that they were still comrades to warn her that there was no sense of good into him. There was no kindness in him, and even his loyalty to Orochimaru was only so he could obtain greater power.
"Hey, Tayuya! Hold this frog."
"Why?"
"I'm going to cut it in half."
"Why the fuck would you do that? It's still alive!"
"That's why." He grinned. "I want to see it squirm."
"You're a sick fuck…"
"Come on, it'll be fun!"
"For you, maybe… you weird bitch."
Tayuya doubted that he was any different. If not, he would be worse. He was Sakon, after all…
She got up and walked on to her house. She didn't want to think about it anymore.
The sun was hung over the peak when Tayuya opened her eyes from her sleep. She stretched like a cat and shook out her hair, cursing it for being greasy as needed. Still muttering profanity, she stepped into the shower where cold water poured on her, in which her language did not get any cleaner but worse as the icy liquid splashed on her bare skin.
But the water warmed up, catching Tayuya in a relaxation phase in which her voice stopped singing sacrilegious things.
After the relaxing thing, she slumped back on her bed.
It was a day off for her but she had nothing to do, really… Anko was on a mission and She wasn't that close to anyone else. She was not so comfortable with Kakashi enough to bother him and plus he was busy training the kids… unless he forgot or something.
She could go over to Tsunade to offer her help but she knew better than to ruin a perfectly good day off by doing that.
Hunger growled in her stomach and much to Tayuya's disappointment, there was absolutely nothing edible in the fridge.
Great… so shopping is what she could use right now… She hated shopping but food was necessary to life. Tayuya pulled on her regular outfit and used a hair-drying jutsu. Grabbing her flute, just in case, she Swung her head-protector about her fingers, as she locked her door and exited her house, whistling lightly.
Still whistling, she walked down the steps to get on ground level. There was a poster neatly glued to the wall on each level and it was an advertisement for the new Icha Icha Festival (Made it up --) movie that will hit the theatres at seven PM today.
So… about what Kakashi said about training the genin… it was probably because he didn't have anything else to do to kill time until the movies decided to play the movie.
In other words, it wasn't - at all - because he was worried about her, rather he wanted something to do.
Tayuya stopped her whistling at once.
So much for being worried about her… Kakashi only wanted to kill time, that bastard…
Tayuya grumbled in a profane language that only herself would ever be able to understand and then continued doing so for the next reason: why she even cared
Ever since that… kiss she ha been having weird thoughts about him… NO, not like anything that involves Jiraiya's interest or anything but unusual nonetheless. She had dreams that he was holding her one moment and she was as happy as ever, and next time she blinked, he was gone. So she stands up and constantly looks for him. She is afraid to speak out to call his name because she is afraid that he could hear her. Strange to be looking for someone with fear that they'd find you… It was confusing and somewhat hellish. What did she have to be afraid anyway? So what if he heard her? Why was the Tayuya in the dream so damn… stupid? Dreams like that usually captures any girls' interest especially if it was a reoccurring dream and especially especially when it was with a person whom you know pretty well… But not well enough to call them your friend or anything more than acquaintances.
She was out of her apartment building and lost sense of where she was walking to.
Oh yeah… the grocery store…
Trying to take her mind off of useless things, she began making mental lists of what she might need to keep her fridge and belly full for a week.
Let's see… I need eggs, milk, probably some rice, cereal? Snacks and shit, yogurt cuz they're damn good, uhh… fish, squid…
"Tayuya-sensei!"
Tayuya looked up to see Haruko running up to her. "What are you doing out here? What about your training?"
"Huh?" Haruko sighed. "He didn't show up. We're pretty used to it. But what happened to you? I thought Kakashi-sensei would be with you."
"Why on hell would he be with me? And he gave me a day off… God damn that man! So much for a fucking day off… Anyway, you still up for training?" Tayuya asked.
"Not really… do we have to?"
"Not really… I'm busy right now."
"That's good…"
"What do you mean, that's good? You're suppose to train like hell if you want to be a ninja," Tayuya said, although she was relieved that Haruko was nothing like Masato who was all about training to become better.
Haruko, who did not want to train slipped away.
Tayuya continued on to her destination, casually greeting familiar faces and stopping for a brief chat with more familiar ones. Everyone seemed to be in such a good mood today.
But Tayuya saw no jounins at all with majority of chuunins disappeared from the streets as well.
She hoped that it was a coincidence that she only saw some chuunins and mostly genins and just villagers because if all jounins were gone… that usually meant something.
Please don't let it mean anything… I hate being left out because of… my past…
At that very moment, something flashed by the walls and made Tayuya jump.
She frantically looked around, and readied her kunai.
The genins and the towns people looked at her strangely.
Tayuya relazed a bit.
Maybe she was seeing things… although the people here were genin and normal people. If she had to trust an instict here, it would have to be her own. But there was on news of a strange person arriving. The gates people would have notified the hokage and the whole town by now.
Tayuya shook it off and dismissed the feeling.
She was supposed to be relaxing today.
But throughout the whole day, she sensed strange presence around her and she tried hardest to stay around crowds of people. With people, the discomfort eased a bit although it didn't completely disappear.
The second time she felt it, she ignored it.
The third time, she threw a kunai at the general direction and scared the living piss out of a freaking dog named Akamaru and had to deal with Kiba's bitching.
The fourth time, she dismissed it again.
The fifth time, she went up the hokage tower to Tsunade, to ask where all the jounins have went to.
"The jounins are out scouting. You will not be joining them of course," Tsunade accented the last part very clearly in a way that meant you'd-better-not-or-I'll-skin-you type of way.
"I won't, gosh…" Tayuya mumbled as she exited her office.
Was she really just over-reacting?
Tayuya had nothing better to do as she watched the sun set over the horizon. That was when she remembered the bold poster of Icha Icha Festival on her apartment wall.
No, she was not in the mood watch people get knocked up at this moment. But she decided to watch a movie. Something other than perverted shit.
She entered the theatre to see a pimply kid sitting there, bored out of his mind. When he saw Tayuya, he eyed her with general disinterest. "Can I help you?" He said with a voice that border lined a boys and a man, cracking at appropriate places.
Tayuya looked up at the playing menu screen.
There were many chick flicks, a horror movie, Icha Icha Festival, Some violence movie…
"Fucking get me one for something violent," Tayuya said.
"Eh?" The kid's eyes suddenly widened at the burst of sudden dirty language.
"Just give me something!"
"Umm… Icha Icha Festiv-"
"I said, violenceAre you fucking deaf or something?"
"No… here you go… uhh…"
Tayuya payed the boy and left him gawking at her awkwardly. She briefly heard him distinctly whisper to a friend at the next stand, "Gosh, some moody lady trying to get over a break-up or something… I bet she got dumped…"
Fucking douche bag…
She entered the theatre and sat on a far back seat. It was almost full with love-struck couples burrowing on each other's arms.
She sighed.
Why was she here?
When the movie started to play, Tayuya was going to go back out to the ticket stand to beat the kid to a bloody pulp for what she paid for was not the violence she mildly wanted to see but a fucking chick-flick.
She looked down at her ticket to verify what the name of this god damned chick-flick was.
Taming Tomoko: Tomoko is a tomboyish girl that does not believe in love but that all changes when the young, gorgeous gentleman Kenta appears in her life… blah blah blah…
No wonder so many couples were here…
Fucking assholes…
The story line was a basic love-line format story. A kind-hearted but financially difficult girl, a rich-ass boy, met in an unusual way as usual. All five thousand other movies like these had unusual meeting scenes such as spilling coffee on the girl's blouse, a nerdy girl dropping books or documents, or something. This one was nothing usual. The girl accidentally hit the guy, giving him a black eye, and like a typical romance movie, they hate each other… Well, at least the girl does. Also, in this movie the guy is actually a perfect gentleman instead of a riding dirty bad boy. Well, it was still so typical… it was a chick-flick, right?
The story progressed on.
Tomoko needs someone to teach her how to play a guitar for a concert she volunteered for her brother but she has no idea in hell how to play. She grudgingly runs to Kenta who is a guitar genius and asks him to teach her at the cost of anything.
Kenta offers for free.
Tomoko snarls violently and demands him to set a price so she it doesn't look like he's just pitying her, again the main character has serious pride issues. After series of deep thought, he decides that she could be a cook for him or something since he's sick of dining out since he lives all alone. Tomoko - again - grudgingly agrees to this term. This is how their relationship builds. There are events that happen and random fluffs of a blackout, or twisting an ankle, or being trapped in a suddenly defunct elevator together (Kenta has an apartment).
Then Tomoko who is financially ill is chased by heartless people that she owes money to in which - like all romantic movies - a violent gang people who threatens her life and those around her. They try to kidnap her but Kenta who just happened to pass by sees this and Kenta who just happened to be a street-fighting master as well as a guitar master kicks the shit out of them with some bruises and scars that Tomoko offers to take care of in her house. Tomoko's house is broken down and poor but Kenta doesn't say anything although he feels bad.
Then share a kiss when Tomoko decides to put ointment on Kenta's bleeding lips (how typical). After they break off, Kenta hurriedly leaves and Tomoko is dazed.
Tomoko is confused beyond reason while Kenta dodges the subject.
In other words it was a mistake.
Now every part of this movie with the exception of some details seemed to be some kind of a plagiarized work from a recent excerpt of a certain red-haired kunoichi who just happened to be sitting in the theatre hoping to recover from the very similar occasion.
Then the time comes for Tomoko's brother's concert - which was completely forgotten in the plotline up to this point - and she no longer has the need to cook for him. And he fires her after Tomoko wants a talk with him about the accidental kiss.
Tomoko is angry and pledges to never see him again.
She cries for the first time in many years and get drunk not knowing why she is so damn upset.
Then more angsty shit happens and Tomoko suddenly is kidnapped by the gang people that are no longer infuriated with just her but also with Kenta. Black mailing begins and as always, Kenta makes it in a nick of time in a old, abandoned warehouse.
Tomoko is tied up, and Kenta has to face endless amounts of bastards who are in the gang with the evil-looking boss guy sits there, being happy. Kenta is kicking ass until they bring on random wooden clubs which just happened to be conveniently laying there according to the numbers of gang members and none for Kenta. Kenta is beaten with Tomoko screaming at them to stop and this continues until the police comes.
Then the movie pretty much ends with confession of love and the gangs being arrested.
They marry and what not and Tomoko is pregnant or something.
The people in the theatre began to leave as the credits and a song began to roll out to mark the end of the typical love story.
Tayuya sat there still.
It wasn't like this was the first romance movie that she'd ever watched yet something about the story… the seemingly typical story dug its claws inside of her. She couldn't pin-point it but it was true and she had to bury her mind in it on her way home.
Who was Kakashi to her?
And really… why was she so confused about this whole thing?
She shouldn't have watched the movie.
It kept on making her think of possibilities that were not there and never there to begin with.
When she returned home, the night was dark.
The fucking movie was long as hell.
She entered the apartment building with the eerie feeling of someone watching her returning to her with the strength sevenfold than it was on the daylight around people. She took two steps at a time to her house in almost a running speed. When she finally arrived at her door, she leaned by it and sighed.
What stupid imagination…
She turned her back around to face the door and took out her key to unlock it. But she regretted doing so immediately.
"You fail as a jounin," A voice all too familiar said.
Tayuya felt her lungs forming into a tight knot.
"I'm sure you've sensed me all day long. Knowing that and still turning your back to me was one or both of these two things: you are stupid beyond reasons or you just really want to come back to me."
Tayuya flipped around to face him. "Sakon…"
He grinned. It was too dark to make out exact shapes but she could at least tell that much.
"You are such a stupid bitch… I don't even know how to describe it. But now you have no choice. Come with me."
"… No…"
"Too bad." He said and before Tayuya could even blink, a punch came on her stomach so fast and so hard, she fell forward hopelessly.
But I don't owe you any debt… Was the only thing her mind mumbled out before her consciousness left her.
Note: The typical story above is based on Korean dramas that annoy me... so if you were a little confused, I'm sorry... but Urgh Korean dramas do get annoying... Well, sorry for the late update... hehe I'll try to be on time next time. Thanks, people!