|Breaking|
Tenten might have not been ordinary, but she was still a beginner. When her eyes opened to blurry starlight, she could feel nothing but constriction in her torso. Rapidly swaying up in place, she hacked out a hefty amount of water. Becoming lightheaded right after, Tenten lethargically wiped dribble off the side of her jaw before pummeling back down into the sand, swearing the last thing she saw was the distorted, but vaguely amused face of her surfing instructor.
The next time she awoke, Kisame sensed it immediately and shifted his position on the worn tatami mat.
"Caught a gnarly one, didn't you?" he quipped. Tenten shakily hoisted herself upwards, resting her hands on the floor for support.
"W-what the hell?" she said, registering the sound of pounding rain. With two blinks, she was alert, though still exhausted. As her vision focused, her eyes trailed from the foot of the ratty futon she was lying in to the other side of the small, dimly lit room. Seeing the large blue man sitting cross-legged in front of a small writing desk at the other side, her expression became lethal.
"Hope you had a pleasant nap."
"What did you do to me?" she grilled. "Where am I?"
"My place, obviously."
"Your place?"
Stare darting from left to right, she surveyed her bleak surroundings. The thin, queen-sized mattress and desk were the only furniture present. The walls were bare save for two hanging scrolls.
"You don't need to look so unimpressed."
Tenten's attention returned to Kisame, who was wearing a lazy smile, and then down to her knapsack sitting next to him. Feeling a rush of energy, she pushed herself forward and swiped it from his side in a lightning fast move, then ghosted to the other wall. He was unconcerned.
"Just don't, okay?" he said, leaning back onto his hands as he watched her pull out a small scroll. "It'd be a pretty poor way to thank the man who saved you from drowning."
Tenten's last waking images flashed through her mind. What was he talking about? She had been owning that wave. Tenten remembered riding it for a good ten seconds before it had begun to engulf her, but even when she plunged into the water, she hadn't panicked. With her strong limbs, she had swum against the bracing oceanic motions, with the heavy board leashed to the ankles. But…then—Tenten grimaced as the back of her head ached with the memory.
"I thought you were going to make it back to shore too," Kisame said, as if reading her thoughts. "who knew driftwood could be such a formidable enemy."
Embarrassed, Tenten swore under her breath.
"In any case," he continued, getting up to walk to the closet and sliding the door open. "I'm not going to try to harm you. Here…"
Pulling a large, clean t-shirt from the darkness, he held it out to her. Glaring down at the offering, Tenten made no indication that she would accept.
"I need to get back to the hotel," she informed.
"In this storm?"
"It's nothing," she disregarded the weather without a single look out the window, knowing that she had already withstood worse conditions in her lifetime. "I need to get back to my roommate."
"Your girlfriend?"
"Yes…" Tenten answered a little too quickly before taking notice of his slowly creeping grin. "wait, what?"
"I have to admire such devotion," he remarked with unnerving relish. "the poor thing is probably longing for your warm touch."
Fighting back the blush pooling underneath her skin, Tenten snapped in response: "We're not a couple."
"Not exclusive you mean?" he asked with a teasing hopefulness.
"Shut your mouth," she growled, snatching the shirt and momentarily discarding her bag. Tenten turned her back to him, knowing that he would think that she was letting her guard down, and unhooked her swimsuit top. The pressure of the drenched fabric on her chest had become so suffocating. Kisame didn't look away, seeing tan lines on smooth olive skin that glowed softly in the candlelight.
"You're not getting this back," she stated. "See you never."
It had seemed so meaningless to put the dry cotton tee on just to get it soaked, but Tenten hadn't done it for functionality. With her damp top put back into her knapsack, she sped through the torrential downfall and half-wished to never see those frightening teeth again. He watched her from the front door she had left open, unable to extinguish the yearning in his gut.
.:.
"I can NOT believe you just left!" Ino said, incredulous at Tenten's complete disregard for nabbing hot surf-instructor ass. As they arrived at the restaurant for brunch, she had finished up her description of the preceding night's events. She had been too exhausted to explain when she got back to the inn seven hours ago, and Ino had only partially awakened when she entered their room.
"Your face has really improved since yesterday," Tenten replied in a weak attempt to sway the conversation.
"Please, you can hardly see my face," Ino said in muffled tone, pushing her large purple shades up the bridge of her nose and tightening the veil around her head and mouth.
"You look kind of like Kakashi-sensei."
"Just get back to the story."
"The story's over, Ino," her friend sighed as they settled into a booth.
"Well it needs another chapter," replied Ino. "you need to see him again."
"Ha," Tenten said, opening the menu. "no."
"Tenten!"
"What?"
They started a repartee about each other's more irritating traits, Tenten's apparent lack of interest in getting laid and Ino's overt thirst for dick, and were interrupted by an uncomfortable looking waiter.
"Oh, finally," Ino said, not showing a smidgen of shame over loudly discussing penis sizes only seconds before. "I'll have the spam and egg musubi and a strawberry-pineapple mimosa."
"Same, but gimme a chili-grapefruit margarita. And don't be afraid to go hard on the tequila," she added with a wink.
"She had a rough night," Ino whispered at him, which earned her an unappreciative glare from the other woman.
"Um, yes, I'll put the order in and have your drinks right out," stammered the waiter before scurrying away.
"You always have to weird out the servers, don't you?"
"Duh," said Ino. "now, back to the issue of Mr. Tall Blue and Muscle-y…"
"There's no issue," Tenten said. "he was my one-time surfing teacher."
"That saved your dumb ass from becoming fish food."
"I could have handled myself," she defended. "he was kind of an ass anyway. Like, he thought he was so great… 'oh, look at me, I'm a big buff surf-instructor who's too cool to admit that a woman can actually learn how to surf…'"
"Come on, he just acted like that to flirt with you."
"'…oh, let me offer you one of my big comfy shirts like it's nothing," Tenten continued to parody him animatedly. "'after practically kidnapping you!'"
"He rescued you."
She crossed her arms stubbornly. "I don't care. I hate his type. He's so self-assured and thinks he's all mysterious with his secrets and laid-back façade and he…he…he's right outside."
"What?" Ino's head whipped around towards the window, eyes widening when she saw the burly object of Tenten's annoyance. "Oh my gosh, it's him! Wow, he has such broad shoulders!"
"Ino. Don't."
Tenten's warning was futile. Ino had already begun waving merrily at Kisame, who had just walked away from an eel stand. He picked at the base of one of his razor-sharp incisors with a toothpick in one hand and held up his umbrella with the other. Today he had foregone the sleeveless look for a yukata-style shirt that was a pale, almost grayish periwinkle in color.
"Yes, he sees us!" Ino squealed while Tenten wanted to melt into the floorboards. Indeed, the shark-faced man had noticed her blonde friend's lively motioning and was now smirking back at them.
"Okay, he saw us. Now let him just walk away so we can enjoy this outing in pea—"
"He's coming over," Ino said. "you have to go out there and meet him."
"What? No!"
"Tenten, get your ass out there or I'll go and invite him in myself."
She slid her sunglasses down. By the threatening glint in her sky blue eyes, Tenten knew Ino wasn't playing. She gave her a dirty look and grabbed the umbrella at her feet. Groaning, Tenten got up from the table and began making her way to the door, frigidly telling the hostess "I'll just be a minute." Upon stepping out into the pouring rain, this time approaching Kisame instead of leaving him, Tenten clenched her jaw. The way he was smugly waiting just a couple feet away made her want to punch him.
"Well hello again," he greeted. "didn't know never would come so soon."
"I just came out here because my friend made me," said Tenten, glowering.
"Oh," said Kisame, glancing at Ino, who had pulled the veil down from her mouth to show that she was beaming widely, through the window and then back to the disgruntled kunoichi in front of him. "your girlfriend?"
"She's my friend, and she's a girl," said Tenten stiffly. "but I already told you it's not like that."
"Girlfriend, lover," drawled Kisame. "it's whatever you wanna call it."
"You're an ass."
"Mm," he said. "she's almost as cute as you. Looks like she's recovering from a sunburn though."
"She is. It was pretty bad." Tenten felt no qualms about telling the cruel truth just to get back at Ino, despite the fact that she couldn't hear what they were saying.
"Reminds me of a friend of mine," Kisame said. "he turns red as a lobster if he's exposed to the sun for too long. He's kind of a prettyboy, so it's funny when that happens."
"Fascinating."
"You look really nice by the way," he complimented. "but I think you looked even better in my shirt."
Kisame eyed her in the flouncy, pastel green gingham sundress. Tenten's low-hanging pigtail braids were looser than they had been when he first saw her.
"Whatever," said Tenten, avoiding his gaze and thinking about his crumpled, waterlogged shirt that she had thrown into the corner of her room.
"Your outfit doesn't look appropriate for such a dreary day, though."
"I dress with my mood on vacation, regardless of what it's like outside."
Stroking his chin, Kisame remembered how she had changed in front of him the evening before.
"So if you were in the Land of Frost, you'd wear a bikini just because it'd go with your mood?"
"I wouldn't vacation in the Land of Frost, moron," was her sassy reply.
He nodded, chuckling. "My mistake. So, you interested in lesson number two?"
Tenten loathed his smile. She disliked his smirk, but a genuine, optimistic smile, showing off all those teeth like serrated jewels, scared her more because she found it kind of irresistible.
"This rain might be a full-blown monsoon by tonight," she said. "and I'm not letting you save me again."
"I can respect that," said Kisame. "an indoor dinner then?"
Tenten felt her ears burn. They then perked at the sound of banging behind her. Turning, she saw Ino furiously mouthing "say yes." Huh, Tenten thought, I guess she can hear us. Or rather, she just had a well tuned sensitivity to budding romances, if you could classify what was happening as such.
"I'm leaving tomorrow," she said with reluctance, looking back at him and making solid eye contact.
"I'll be departing from this island soon as well," he said. "our time is short. Life is short, really. We should do what we want."
Tucking a strand of her brown hair, reddened warmly from hours on the beach, behind her ear, Tenten spoke calmly: "I'll meet you on the south beach at eight, then. That's where you live, isn't it?"
"I'm flattered you remember."
.:.
Having rejected all of Ino's pushy recommendations to borrow one of her short, low-necked dresses, Tenten had opted to stay in the same comfortable frock for the date. The word "date" replayed in her mind, still sounding irksome. However, she had permitted Ino to paint her nails pink.
"You might think that guys don't notice this kind of stuff," she had said after glossing Tenten's pinky with topcoat. "and they don't."
"Right," Tenten had muttered. "so what's the point of this again?"
"Everything you do is to make yourself feel cute, sexy, and alluring. Whether it's showing off your tits, legs, or doing something as simple as painting your nails. If it makes you feel confident, then you've already got this thing in the bag."
Tenten had examined the bottle of nail lacquer in disinterest. "And painting my nails in the color 'sugar daddy' is supposed to make me feel confident?"
"Iunno. I hope so. Even if it doesn't, it's fun for me!"
It had made her feel confident, in fact. Not so much the nail polish itself but the act of one of her best friends doing something kind for her. Ino always liked to butt into people's love lives, and it could be quite annoying, but it was mostly endearing. It was her way of showing that she cared. Now, as Tenten bit her lip and gripped the ceramic ware in her hand while forming a barrier between her and Kisame's chest with the other, she wondered what Ino would tell her to do. Having such a low level of discretion towards dating, Tenten liked to rely on abstract concepts to guide these types of things on the rare occasions they occurred. The "stars," "planets," or most irritating one to her friends, "the universe," were the forces that dictated any romantic opportunities. She was assertive in battle, but passive with matters of the heart, thinking too much boldness could knock her equilibrium off, taint her aura, and result in a curse of bad relationships for all of eternity. Ino was the opposite: she was a go-getter, almost liked to force the gods of love to bend under her iron will. She pounced on any chance to land a beau, and Tenten imagined a tiny Ino hovering over her shoulder at the present moment, yapping in her ear—"Go for it! GO FOR IT!"
"I should go wash this," said Tenten curtly, getting up and walking to the barrel in the corner under the wall faucet. Sorry 'lil Ino, Tenten thought in her head.
"Just leave it there," Kisame said. "I'll wash everything later."
Tenten had been wrong. The rain had stopped for hours now, but she still preferred to stay inside. They had just finished supper. He had made them a simple but delicious meal of Hamachi poké, one bowl each. She placed her empty one in the bottom of the sizable wooden container, feeling like she wanted to start the sink and go against his order just so she could excuse herself longer. However, she just smoothed her dress out and rejoined him at the table. Kisame's beach home was small, combining sleeping, kitchen, and dining areas into one compact space. They had eaten next to each other rather than across from; Tenten had thought it was odd he wanted to be so near to her. She had instinctively held up her open palm in defense seconds ago, despite him making no attempt to touch her.
"It's bad luck for strangers to share a meal while sitting on the same side of a table," she said.
"You believe in bad luck?" he asked.
Tenten placed her hands in her lap. "To a point, yes."
"It might be bad luck," he said, and a chill ran up her spine. "or just plain dangerous."
Kisame took a sip of his tea while Tenten played with her skirt hem. Anxiety suffusing her fingertips, she balled them into a trembling fist.
"It's a full moon," she said, leaning towards him. He watched her movements in his periphery, downing the last of the now lukewarm liquid. Daringly, she pressed onto his knee, lips pursed and amber irises glimmering in sync with the candle flame.
"Ah," he said, placing the cup down. "yes it is."
"Being the way you are, you must feel lunar power in your veins," she surmised.
"Being the way I am?" he inquired.
Nodding, Tenten explained, "You're a fish. You go with the flow…and are most mobile when it's most powerful, and that's on a full moon."
He laughed at her. "My mobility is controlled by me and me alone. And I'm not a fish. I'm a man."
"Oh, I know," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder and whispering into his ear. "I didn't mean you're an actual fish. I meant that you're a Pisces."
Kisame put a hand on her back, enjoying their closeness but not facing her.
"Astrology is all fake," he said. "you can't be serious."
She drew away and pouted. "I am. And I meant that you're the most mobile, but not on account of your own will. You can be moved vast distances in any direction because of the moon. The moon in Pisces is not a very easy position—you're much more vulnerable to fate, like a fish going wherever the current takes it. You're passive."
The notion was beyond hilarious, but Kisame kept listening anyway, thinking it was rather stereotypical to deduce his sign simply from his appearance. She was right, but it was still insensitive.
"But you know," she said, and he could feel excitement quake through her slender form when she was allowed to turn his face in her direction. "the full moon is also a time to start anew. In the hum of all its energies, you can still have epiphanies about things that were only vague desires at new moon. The moon's waxing and waning is like the shortest hand on the cosmic clock. Sometimes the best way to stay attuned to the cosmic currents is to go with the flow."
"I don't have any vague desires."
"I'm not talking about you," she said with a small coquettish smile. "I'm a Pisces too."
Her quivering lips met his still ones. The kiss was warm and cool, just like the ocean. He was cold to the touch, his flesh a rough pallor and the opposite of her hot, smooth skin flushed the shade of spiced sand. Kisame pulled her much smaller body atop his. Tenten's bare feet twisted against each other in delight, bringing her legs together in the shape of a mermaid's tail. He tried not to rake his hands against her too hard for fear of leaving scratches, but when he felt Tenten put her palms against his, Kisame could feel that these parts of her were not supple like the rest of her body. They were abrasive with callouses.
You'll be proud, Ino, she thought with a smirk.
"What are you grinning about?" he asked. She had pulled away, the tip of her nose barely touching his. Opening her eyes, she looked into his inhuman eyes, which were so veiny up close. He let her gingerly finger the gills underneath them and wiggle against his rigid form. He knew she was in her early twenties, but there was something so childlike about her. Kisame grabbed fistfuls of her dress, pulling it up slowly. Tenten looked unfazed, but he felt her heartbeat quicken. He thought that kunoichi or not, she was still female, overcome with girlish wonder, somebody's daughter…
Tenten grasped his wrist with a vice-grip and pried it off her, pinning it to the floor. She pulled a kunai out with her free hand and held it to his neck.
"What would your sensei think of you right now?" he asked.
Her cheeks reddened at the mention. What did he have to do with this? More importantly, how did he know him? He would show me approval, Tenten thought, I've been trained for this. Stabbing the weapon into Kisame, Tenten's body hit the floor as soon as soon as he melted away.
"A water clone," she said. She felt herself yanked up violently by the back strap of her dress. Spinning her around, Kisame thrust her into the wall and held her there. She was suspended, feet hanging above the floor, comely mouth agape with shock.
He squeezed Tenten's face. "I've decided to give you another free lesson, but it's not on surfing."
Kisame kissed her, absorbed her silliness about auras, moon phases, cosmic currents and all.