I know it's been a while. So, let's just get into it. Enjoy
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and or the cover art.
Chapter 10
Tenten was convinced that the world was conspiring against her. And as if things weren't bad enough already, Kankuro appears out of thin air. He was certainly the last person she expected to see and by the look of things he hasn't been expecting her either.
"Hey, are you okay?" asked Sasuke, whom picked up the change in her body language.
"Yeah, I'm good…" answered Tenten, too quickly.
Sasuke looked at Kankuro and back to Tenten. The tenseness of her jaw, the way she adjusted her skirt and even how she clung to Sasuke. These were all signs of distress. And if that wasn't enough, Neji overbearing presence was felt more intensely. Without even realizing it, Sasuke moved in to shield Tenten from Kankuro vantage point. It wouldn't be long before he made his move. And as if on cue, the sand nin approached.
"I've been trying to get in contact with you for a while now. How are you?" Asked Kankuro
Tenten watched him just like before; obviously suffering from a loss of words.
"Excuse me and you are?" Asked Sasuke, not missing a beat.
"What?" replied Kankuro, looking at dumb struck as he sounded.
"How do you know my wife?" said Sasuke, feeding their cover story.
Kankuro paused for a moment; pondering this new found information.
"Married huh, I wasn't aware. But to answer your question, we've worked together in the past" added Kankuro
"Hanari Hime, Mind introducing us?" Lead Sasuke, piecing more of the story together.
"Kankuro Sama, this is Satoshi Arai" Tenten gestured towards Sasuke
"Do you remember my brother Habari and Shikahara Sama?"
"Nice to meet you all" nodded Kankuro in acknowledgement.
Kankuro could feel Neji's glaze from across the room. Sasuke menacing presence was only adding to the tense atmosphere. As a shinobi you learn to work under extreme conditions but this was something he refused to subject himself too.
"Hanari San, it was very nice seeing you again. But I need to tend to my date. Please excuse me"
Tenten turned to Sasuke and quietly thanked him. He gave her a smirk which clearly meant an explanation would be required as some point. Tenten huffed; averting her gaze in slight irritation. She decided it would a good time as any, to excused herself for a while. Sasuke caught her hand and pulled her into his chest protectively. He gently wrapped his free arm around her waist. He leaned in and blew on her ear.
"Where do you think you're going?" asked Sasuke huffily, in a very teasing manner
Her cheeks tint a faint brush of red. Sasuke was at times flirty but this was….
"Running away doesn't suit you"
"I was just going to the bathroom" Tenten sucked her teeth in response
"Yeah, whatever you say"
"So, what's your deal? You're being oddly attentive. It's so unlike you" she asked totally curious
He pondered it briefly before answering
"I have no clue about what you're talking about"
He took this opportunity to tease her ear once again. She shivered lightly this time
"Seriously, you play too much. Lay off a bit will you"
"And what if I don't want too"
She managed to wiggle loose enough to shove him away.
oo0oo
The main event was now here. Their host arrived shortly after Kankuro entrance and personally escorted them to the dinner room. On Tenten's left was Sasuke. To her right, was Neji and across from her on the other side of the table was Kankuro. Just her luck, she was forced to look at her ex, if she could call him that.
"Hanari San, thank you for accepting our invitation. Under different circumstances I would have made better accommodations but on such short notice. This is the best I can do. I hope it is satisfactory" informed Lord Shikahara
"No sir, this is more than satisfactory" admitted Tenten
"You may drop the formalities. We are family now" spoke First Lady Shikahara.
Tenten nodded her head in understand.
"Habari tells me, you two are twins" stated the Lord, fishing for confirmation.
"We are but unfortunately for me, he seems to have the better genetics or so I've be told"
Teased Tenten, everyone at the dinner table chuckle except for Neji.
"I take after mother and she takes after our father." Neji jabbed back playfully
"My dear, you are quite lovely. I imagine you were quite popular back home" added the older man
She broke into a sincere grin. "You are too kind"
"Your husband is quite the looker himself" added Shikahara's mother.
"Really" said Tenten, tilting her head playfully towards Sasuke scrunching up her nose
"I suppose he is. But to be honest, the only reason were together is because he is extremely persistent and wouldn't take no for an answer"
The older couple chuckled once again at their playfulness.
"As I recall; you were throwing hints left and right. Chakra therapy ring any bells"
Neji choked on his beverage and rolled into a coughing fit. He was not expecting that. Leave it to Sasuke to bring a totally inappropriate subject to the fore front.
"That is extremely inappropriate for a conversation with our in laws"
"We're all adults here." Added Sasuke
Tenten could sense the ounce of malice in his voice. He can't seriously still be mad about this.
"It is okay, you may Proceed" Shikahara's mother said.
Old perverts.
"I was injured pretty badly. I needed therapy to speed up my recovery and Things got heated"
Sasuke watched her attentively as though he wasn't there the day in question.
"One of my genin teammates was helping me this particular day. Satoshi walked in on us and a argument broke out. My teammate left and taking Satoshi with him but later on that day he came back. We got into a pretty heated argument. My room was turned upside down and next thing I know. He was all over me"
Neji arches his eye brows. That was a pretty accurate telling. But he wondered, if the part about her and Sasuke bickering was true. Did he come back after Gai Sensei kicked them both out? And claim Tenten like she said he did. With ample opportunity, Neji was pretty sure Sasuke would have attempted something.
"Says the girl who can't keep her hands to herself"
Tenten mushed Sasuke playfully. Sasuke laughed and kissed her on the forehead sweetly.
The older couple couldn't help but laugh. They found this young couples exchange to be most amusing. They definitely were very compatible. They seemed totally infatuated with each other. As one would expect for a couple soon to be married.
"Kankuro my boy, what brings you back so soon? " asked the Lord
"Progress report, I wanted see how things were moving along" answered Kankuro
"And who is your lovely companion?" pondered the Lord
"This is Matsuri, my baby sitter" rattled of Kankuro
"I see. There are many eligible women. The right one will come. I assure you"
"There was someone but I let her slip right through my fingers. So maybe, I deserve to be alone"
"If it's meant to be. Another opportunity will surface but if not, there are many fish in the sea"
He chuckled grinning.
"Enough with all this depressing talk" Kankuro turned to Tenten. "How long have you been married?
Sasuke placed his hand on her back in attempts to comfort her.
"About a year" answered Tenten
"10 months exact" added Neji, coming to the rescue years later.
Kankuro, furrowed his eyebrows in shock before turning to Neji
"What about you Habari San? when are you two planning to tie the knot" challenged Kankuro
"We haven't decided yet but we will send you an invitation once we do"
The lord picked up on their familiarity.
"Would I be wrong in assuming you two know each other?" Lord Shikahara asked
"Yeah" Tenten, cut off Kankuro "My brother and I've worked with him on multiple occasions"
"Really…I'd say it goes a bit deeper than that" added Kankuro
Seriously, Kankuro what are you trying to pull? She was horrified, not bothering to cover it up. She saw an amused smirk grace Sasuke thin lips. And to her other side, the slight twitch of Neji's eye disguised eye. All in all, Lord Shikahara must have found this amusing because he burst into giggles with his wife following suit.
"I kid. I kid. As lovely as she is; it was merely an illusion for entertainment sakes. Forgive me Hanari san" he smiled at her playfully.
But Tenten knew better. Behind that crooked smile of his lied hate. The truth was in the fact that he revealed information that could possibly taint her cover. And then played it off like a game he'd been playing the entire time. What was wrong with him?
After another unexpected mishap, things seemed to slowly fall into place. Sasuke was on his A game; if she didn't know any better she'd be convinced he actually liked her. Neji was his normal gentlemanly self and played his role flawlessly. She caught Kankuro's eye on her more times than they really should have. Kami, did she hope important business beckoned him back to Suna? For the sake of her sanity she'd hope for the best.
What did you think? What do you think might happen next? Let me know. Thank you so much for taking the time to check out this chapter. And I hope to hear from you all.
S. Hollyhood 08/22/2015