Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Tenzou stood from the steps and was about to leave, but he heard someone call his code name. He turned to see the council man, Maiku, hurrying down the steps towards him with an anxious look on his face. Instantly, Tenzou was on guard and rushed to meet him, assuming something was wrong by the pace at which Maiku approached him.
"What happened?" He panted.
Maiku looked confused for a few seconds before he seemed to understand Tenzou's urgency and laughed, patting him on the shoulder to calm him. "I'm sorry to worry you, I just wanted to talk to you before you left."
Tenzou almost slapped his forehead. "...Kay."
Maiku looked amused until he seemed to remember the reason for his hurry to catch up with the ninja. His face straightened and his body language suggested he was strangely uncomfortable. "I, ah...noticed you and Tama talking."
"Yes. That's...what you wanted, wasn't it?" Tenzou asked slowly, his eyebrow raising.
"Yes, yes. Of course. I'm sure you've noticed, Tama is...particular about who he spends his time with." Maiku cleared his throat awkwardly and Tenzou was beginning to wonder what the hell was actually going on here. "Anyway. What I wanted to say was...ah...well, please don't take this the wrong way, but I assumed ninja were a little more...rugged and battered looking."
Tenzou almost cleared out his ears to make sure he heard properly.
"I...can assure you, my looks have nothing to do with my ability to do my job."
"Oh, no no!" Maiku stammered, holding his hands up as if to physically stop Tenzou's train of thought. "That is not what I meant, please don't take offence. What I really meant to ask was...well...how close has Tama gotten to you?"
Oh.
Oooohhhhhh.
"Close enough. Why do you ask?" he answered innocently.
"Err...you haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary?"
"Not at all." Tenzou replied, practically batting his eyelashes in utter angelic integrity.
"Oh. Well...haha, I suppose I was worrying for nothing then." Maiku laughed, obviously embarrassed and definitely stressed.
"Counsellor. If there is anything I need to know, I urge you to tell me." Tenzou leaned in, his voice dropping to a decibel that was hopefully intimidating. Maiku looked like he was going to start sweating profusely.
"I...well, perhaps you just aren't...used to...I noticed his behaviour towards you and it looked familiar."
Tenzou practically sighed in aggravation. "Familiar to what?"
"...Come into my office." Maiku huffed, spinning and stomping up the steps. Tenzou glared after him, definitely understanding what was going on. There was a lot more to this mission than Maiku initially told them, and hopefully this meant he was going to find out what it was.
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Surprisingly, the entire building was empty. Where the hell Tama had gone to was beyond him, and why Maiku was skulking around an empty building was hopefully going to be explained soon.
As soon as they reached his office, the man spun on his heel and clicked the door closed. With a loud sigh, Maiku sunk down onto a plush chair behind his desk and motioned for Tenzou to do the same across from him.
"Look. I am telling you this information because I think that you, specifically, need to know it. For your own good. It does not leave this room."
Tenzou cocked an eyebrow, but otherwise said nothing. As if he wasn't going to tell his team every single thing the counsellor told him. This guy obviously understood nothing about ninja.
"Tama...is a special case. He was betrothed to a very wealthy daughter of a very wealthy family of a neighbouring village. You have no idea the arrangements we made around this marriage. Shared wealth, shared supplies, alliances...everything. However, it all fell to pieces when Tama broke off the engagement, because..." Maiku trailed off, his entire face going red. His hesitance was unnecessary, as Tenzou didn't need it to be spelled out for him.
"...because he preferred the company of men. I was so ashamed, as were the rest of the council. Needless to say, the neighbouring village was not happy. Actually, that is a severe understatement. They were enraged. I had no one else to give them as all of the other council members sons and daughters were already married. I hired you lot because I have good reason to think they may retaliate against Tama"
Oh geeze...
A vein in Tenzou's forehead throbbed with his frustration. "Do you have any idea how serious of an offence withholding this kind of information is?" Tenzou practically growled. "If you really want us to protect your son, we need to know everything. Any little detail could help us save his life, if the situation called for it."
"Oh, come on! That's easy for you to say! You have no idea what it's like, having your son...ugh. I don't want to talk about it; explaining the situation to you is bad enough." Maiku sank lower on his cushion as if weighed down immeasurably by his stress.
Tenzou couldn't have felt less sorry for anyone ever.
"What village is it that could be after him?"
"...I can't tell you."
"WHY not?" Tenzou snarled, leaping up, sending his cushion flying. Maiku jerked back, startled.
"Don't raise your voice at me, boy! I'm telling you all that I can tell you."
"Every village has its own style. If you tell us the village name we may be able to spot a ninja belonging to it just by the way he dresses, acts, or the jutsu he uses. You're selling yourself short by not helping us."
Maiku stood as well, a vein in his temple throbbing from rage. "Listen to me. I am paying EXTREMELY large sums of money for you and your pretty boy gang to protect my son. If you are worth even half of that, you can figure it out on your own."
Something clicked in Tenzou's head. He fought for control of his temper.
"...The artifact. It has no actual value, does it?"
Maiku looked like someone stabbed him in the throat with a cheese grater. He obviously did not expect Tenzou to be very bright.
"...No. We wanted the best. We wanted as many of you as we could get. Considering what the mission sounded like on paper, we were worried we could only receive two shinobi at the most. So, we elaborated a little."
"Who the hell is 'we'?"
"The Council. What happens in this village is everyone's responsibility."
Tenzou shook his head and turned to leave. He couldn't believe this shit. People were so damn selfish.
"Wait! You mustn't tell anyone!"
Spinning violently, Tenzou approached Maiku with barely concealed rage. "Of course I'm going to tell them! How many times do I have to explain it to you; we need to know as much information as possible to protect Tama to the best of our abilities. No one else will know, other than us. I strongly urge you to think less selfishly in the future. As for you lying about this mission, that is another matter. My captain will have the final say in that."
Once Maiku was satisfyingly pale, Tenzou practically ripped the door off its hinges and stormed out of the office. The freakin' nerve...making his team waste their damn time guarding a useless piece of metal when they could have been focusing their attentions on Tama. How the hell did that make any damn sense? What the hell was that fucking idiot thinking?
Tenzou was so caught up in his anger that he barely noticed the new chakra signature until it was too late. He gasped, spun, and had his arm snatched out of the air effortlessly.
"Wow, there." A familiar voice purred.
"...Ka-ERR...Miko!" Tenzou gasped, his face lighting up instantly. "We need to talk."
Kakashi's face went serious in an instant. "What's wrong?"
"I'll explain in the room."
"Yu and Jinkyu are waiting for us there." he answered quickly, walking towards the hotel without hesitation. The two fell into step with each other easily, and there was silence for just a moment before Kakashi continued. "I came to find you after you took so long."
Tenzou ducked his head slightly. "I'm sorry. It's...been a really interesting night."
"I bet."
Kakashi's voice had just the slightest edge to it. It made Tenzou feel terrible. Kakashi had, technically, dicked him around for a good two weeks, but it hadn't been with malicious intentions. He felt like keeping Kakashi dangling in this particular situation was cruel.
"He's a nice guy and he obviously means well. But, he's just an acquaintance." Tenzou explained, looking up at Kakashi with sincerity. "No one comes close to you."
Kakashi turned to Tenzou, catching his eye. Emotion glittered there, strong and unhindered. It made Tenzou's breath catch, made him glad he'd been honest as soon as possible. Kakashi obviously appreciated it more than he could actually explain with words. Tenzou felt fingers ghost across his chin, and he almost threw himself against his captain for a kiss he suddenly desperately wanted.
"Do whatever is best." Kakashi's words were thick and certain, communicating how he didn't want Tenzou jeopardizing the mission just to placate his own nervousness.
"Oh, we're going to have to re-decide what is best, 'Miko'." Tenzou grumbled with obvious aggravation. Kakashi looked concerned, but he turned his head and focused on getting back to the hotel as fast as possible. They didn't have much further to go.
Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Oh, for fucking real?" Genma groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Unfortunately." Tenzou sighed, glancing around the table at his teammates. "The way Tama has been acting, it makes sense. He's always by himself, he wants nothing to do with his father, and...err." Tenzou cut himself off, suddenly intensely embarrassed. Everyone caught it. Everyone grinned.
"And he's tried to fiddle with your fondly bits?" Genma supplied, not at all embarrassed.
"NO. He has not." Tenzou answered though the palm of his hand that he had slapped onto his face. "But he's made it clear that he's interested. YES, yes, you were all right." he sighed at Genma and Gai's victorious expressions.
"I guess obliviousness is his kink."
Tenzou whipped a pillow at Genma, who artfully dodged it with a wicked grin.
"The real question is..." Kakashi started, and when everyone had calmed down and matured back to their actual ages, he continued. "...What do we do now? Technically, we can abort the mission due to false information. I can't see us doing that."
The table was silent, as all agreed with their captain.
"So. We concentrate our forces on Tama. We can divide into two teams; one will be on during the day, and one at night. The festival is only another two days, so we can protect him 24/7 easily until then."
Three silent nods accompanied Kakashi's suggestion.
"I work well at night, as I know Genma also does, so we will be the night watch. Tenzou, since you have such a successful relationship with our client so far, it only makes sense for you to spend the day with him." Kakashi suggested, levelling Tenzou with a hard stare, his look and his tone basically ordering Tenzou to deal with his uncomfortable situation properly. Tenzou kind of wanted to punch Kakashi in the stomach. Yes, he had just reassured Kakashi that he had nothing to worry about, and obviously Kakashi believed him. However, it seemed a little unnecessary and self sabotaging to deliberately stick Tenzou with Tama ALL DAY when the guy obviously had feelings for him, and them being together obviously made Kakashi uncomfortable.
"Do you really think that's best?" Tenzou asked, a feeling in his gut telling him this conversation was not going to end well. "Adding fuel to the fire will just worsen the situation."
"What's the matter? You can't handle him?"
Tenzou rubbed his temple in irritation and Gai and Genma made themselves as small as possible.
"I just think it's cruel. You're asking me to spend excessive amounts of time with him."
"Really? I don't remember saying that. Gai can be the one to talk to him, you can watch from the shadows."
Tenzou levelled Kakashi with an 'are you serious?' glare, leaning on the table towards his captain. "Gai's cover is that he's practically mute. How is that going to work?"
Kakashi leaned in right back, his cold, hard stare so withering Gai and Genma recoiled instinctively.
"Make it work."
Tenzou and Kakashi glared absolute ice daggers at each other from across the table while their two teammates basically wished they were anywhere else on earth.
"...Would you guys like to discuss this alone...?" Genma squeaked.
"No. Tenzou has his orders. This meeting is over."
Tenzou practically leaped up from the table, he stood so quickly, jarring his glass of sake. "I guess I should get some sleep, then." he hissed, whirling around and basically storming off to his small apartment. Gai stood slowly and bowed lightly to his friends, obviously trying not to be awkward.
"I, ah...shall also rest. Good luck tonight, my friends." he murmured, then slipped away as well.
Genma crossed his arms, cocked his head and gave Kakashi a blatant "WTF?" look.
Kakashi shot him a glare that told him not to push him. Genma couldn't have cared less. He slid along the table until he was at Kakashi's shoulder, close enough to whisper so that no one else could hear.
"You are only hurting yourself with this shit, brother."
Kakashi didn't respond. He didn't even blink. He just stared straight ahead and sipped his sake.
"I think I get what you're doing, but its unnecessary. Both of you guys are obviously on shaky, newborn legs with whatever the hell is going on, so pushing each other over all the time is no way to get anywhere."
Kakashi finally turned to Genma. "You should get ready for tonight."
His friend sighed, shook his head, and headed to his room to gear up. Freakin' amateur.
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Kakashi and Genma left for their sure to be excruciatingly boring night shift a few minutes after the super awkwardest meeting of all time. Genma had to ask Tenzou of Tama's whereabouts since he was the one with the chakra fix on him, but after that they were good to go.
An hour into the night had Tenzou wide awake and rolling around on his soft bed with agitation. The way Kakashi had acted at the meeting made it seem like their short conversation about Tama meant nothing at all. The way Kakashi had looked at him made it seem like he believed Tenzou, but now...now it seemed like he was being tested. As if Kakashi was forcing him into a situation where he would constantly have to assert himself and their slow-building relationship. It wasn't fair at all. Tenzou felt like he was the one constantly jumping through hoops while Kakashi called all the shots. Kakashi was the one who got "time to think things through" while Tenzou waited around with baited breath on the sidelines. Kakashi was the one who initiated all the flirting, and decided when they weren't allowed to flirt at all. Kakashi was the one who got to have his fill when he wanted it, and Tenzou was just expected to roll with it and get whatever he could when he could. Sure, Tenzou had some third wheel obviously interested in him, but Tenzou had told Kakashi he meant nothing to him, and now Kakashi was forcing them together as if to make Tenzou suffer for ever having made him feel jealousy at all.
The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became.
"Tenzou..."
He blinked in confusion at hearing Gai call his name.
"Yes?"
"I can feel your anger from here. You've been tossing for over an hour."
Shit. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to keep you up."
Gai chuckled softly. "You do not have to apologize. I understand."
Tenzou turned completely red. Great. His drama was everyone's drama.
"Kakashi...I've known him since we were children. He is my rival, of course, but truly I consider him to be my closest friend. As someone who has been trying to get close to him for years, I assure you it is not easy for anyone. And, might I also mention that I have never seen him willingly attempt a romantic relationship with anyone before you."
Tenzou let that soak in. It sounded extremely romantic, but in a practical sense, it explained a lot.
"He has been hesitant to form bonds the entire time that I have known him. To be quite honest, I did not see him truly accept me as an attempted friend until I almost died on a mission when we were younger." Gai mused, chuckling at the memory. "He has gotten much better, but he was quite reserved and antisocial when I came upon him years ago. It has taken him quite some time to change his tunes, and although he is much better, some of his old cold ways have lingered. Please, do not take offensive to his...odd character. Talk to him, tell him if you're uncomfortable, but do not be angry."
Tenzou stared at the ceiling as Gai talked, grateful to his friend for sharing such intimate information about Kakashi. Not that you needed a genius I.Q. To see that Kakashi was unusual, but Gai's words soothed him regardless. It made him feel like he wasn't doing something horribly wrong that was keeping the situation complicated.
"Thank you. I'll talk to him." Tenzou whispered. He could almost hear Gai smile.
"Goodnight." his teammate whispered back, and both of them went quiet.
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Tenzou and Gai were woken the next morning by the sound of Genma bursting through the door, sighing in aggravation and flopping down onto his bed.
"SO. BORING."came the muffled shout from around Genma's pillow.
Well. Maybe the daytime shift wasn't so bad after all.
The two shinobi rose and were greeted by an even more welcome sight than a frustrated Genma; room service. Tenzou could really get used to this kind of treatment.
The three friends sat down around the table to breakfast, which Genma wolfed down so fast he barely stopped to breathe.
"Where is Kakashi...?" Tenzou asked meekly.
Genma swallowed what was in his mouth and shook his head. "I think he went to talk to the council man, Maiku. Kakashi doesn't appreciate being bullshitted. I think he wants to grill him for more info in his own way."
Tenzou actually felt sort of sorry for Maiku if that was the case. Being on Kakashi's bad side was emotional, mental and probably physical suicide. He kind of deserved it, though, so whatever.
Kakashi didn't show up for another 30 minutes. He glided in through the doors looking the most haggard Tenzou had ever seen him. He plopped down at the table, blinked slowly, then made some sort of strange hand gesture towards the tea.
"...Mmnn...yah..."
Tenzou snorted and poured him some. "How did it go?"
Kakashi accepted his cup from Tenzou with what the mokuton user assumed was supposed to be a smile, but it kind of looked like he needed to burp. "Fine. The village that will supposedly act out vengeance on our client is the Flower village. They are extremely peaceful."
Gai threw up his arms. "What is the issue, then?"
"Well. I, personally, think that Maiku is projecting his own feelings onto the situation. He seems to be more upset with his son than anyone else. His passion makes it difficult to tell if he's lying or not. I sense something is off, though. It doesn't make sense for him to hide so much information about the mission. He says its for diplomatic reasons, but mission stats are confidential between all parties involved. If he wanted to keep Flower and Waterfall village's drama off the record, he shouldn't have hired ninja from outside the country. Mist would have helped them, and the Mizukage is supposed to be privy to the messes between villages anyway." Kakashi took a sip of his tea. "However. We don't have all of the answers, so we'll continue with the mission on high alert."
"Kakashi, how did you get all of that info out of him? He was stubborn as hell last night." Tenzou marvelled.
Kakashi's lazy expression did not waver, but there was a definite twinkle to his eye. "I have a way with words."
"By words, do you mean kunai's?" Genma asked innocently.
Kakashi placed a startled hand to his heart with a lazy, injured look. "Me? Threaten civilians? I don't know what to say."
"I believe we should be getting to our rounds, my friends." Gai laughed, standing from the table. "Will you be ready to go in around ten minutes, Tenzou?"
"Sure." the mokuton user replied easily. As he stood, he felt someone grab his wrist and put practically all of their weight onto his arm. He yelped and tipped to the side before regaining his balance. Tenzou glanced down at Kakashi, who was sprawled on the table, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes so convincing his ninken would be jealous.
"I'm tired. Help me to my bed."
Tenzou rolled his eyes with a smile and knelt down next to his captain. He grabbed the copy-nins arm, wrapped it around his shoulders and gripped his side. As he stood, he carried most of Kakashi's weight on his torso.
"I have a feeling you have been through far worse than 24 hours without sleep, Kakashi-senpai."
"Maa...I also have a stomach ache."
Tenzou laughed as he guided his obviously exaggerating captain to his little apartment. "Poor thing."
He sat on the side of the bed and slowly eased Kakashi onto his back. When his captain was laying down, they simply remained still and looked at each other. There was just something about laying down that made Kakashi even more attractive. Maybe because of what it insinuated, but...Tenzou felt himself drawn in again, like he always was. He could sense the heavy atmosphere returning between them as Kakashi's eyes burned into his.
"I think...there's a lot we need to talk about, Senpai." Tenzou whispered softly, placing his hand gently over Kakashi's chest. "I don't think we're communicating very well."
For a moment, Kakashi looked away, as if he was slightly ashamed of himself. "You're right."
"I'm...sorry, if I made you feel-"
"-No." Kakashi cut in firmly. "You didn't make me feel anything. That was me."
Tenzou, surprised, stared at Kakashi. Slowly a warm, affectionate smile spread across his face. His large, almond shaped eyes danced. He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Kakashi's lips, who returned it eagerly. Tenzou realized he was technically breaking his own "No PDA" rule, but the moment had been far too perfect.
Tenzou pulled away with a slight protesting 'tsk' from Kakashi. He laughed, kissing his captain on the cheek. "We're not alone, Senpai."
"They can't hear us..."
"Yes, we can." Genma chimed with open amusement instead of annoyance. "But this is a lot less awkward than when you guys fight."
Tenzou blushed and Kakashi just shrugged. It amazed the mokuton user at how little really got to Kakashi.
"Are you ready for our mission, Tenzou? Poor Tama could be getting attacked as we speak! Or...well, as you two canoodle, really..."
"OKAY!" Tenzou called, cutting off that train of thought right quick. "Coming!" he smiled down at Kakashi and promptly walked out into the open, trying to look like it didn't embarrass the hell out of him when Gai was so blatant about his and Kakashi's realtionship.
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Thanks to Tenzou, the two shinobi found Tama in no time at all. Thankfully, he was safe and whole, because if he'd actually been attacked Tenzou would have felt like a sack of shit.
Tama caught sight of Tenzou and shot him a smile so warm the mokuton user felt like someone took a 'guilt' glove and punched him in the stomach with it. He didn't know WHY he felt so bad, as he had done nothing to lead Tama on. It's not like he'd held his hand and whispered sweet nothings into his ear.
The thought struck Tenzou, kind of out of left field, that maybe he just wasn't used to getting so much romantic attention. It was probably normal for someone to be interested in you, at least some times, but Tenzou hadn't really had the social mileage to experience it. Having two attractive people interested in him in such a short amount of time was crossing his wires. He really needed to get out more often...
"Good morning, Tama. Nice to see you." Tenzou greeted with a smile, one that he tried to keep polite and not too friendly. Apparently he failed miserably if the way Tama smiled back at him was any indication.
"Hanj. I was hoping to see you today; I thought maybe we could go back to the park." The blue eyed south suggested with his warm smile.
"Sure! My friend Yu is with me, though. You don't mind if he accompanies us, do you?"
The only indication that Tama was disappointed was the slightest drop of his face. Otherwise, he nodded without complaint. "Of course."
Gai stepped forward and bowed so suddenly and so low that Tenzou had to pretend to cough to cover his laugh. Tama seemed to be equally as amused by the sullen shinobi's intensity. "It's fine, indeed." he added.
The three young men headed through the crowd, attempting to stick together through the thick mass of people milling about the grounds. Tenzou was amazed at how busy the festival had gotten, but since this was the second last day, he supposed it made sense. He stuck extra close to Tama, as the proximity people were getting to him made him extremely nervous. This was the perfect moment for someone to strike without being noticed.
He looked over Tama's shoulder at Gai, sent him what he hoped was a 'you doing ok?' look, and was relieved when Gai nodded seriously. Tenzou really wanted to get them out of this crowd.
"Tama, maybe we should choose another route? I'm feeling a little claustrophobic.."
"I hear yah. We can go through the back of those shrines." He suggested, turning to make his way over. Tenzou followed closely and noticed Gai lag slightly behind. The taijutsu master was usually extremely quick, so Tenzou assumed he did so on purpose. As he hurried to stay at Tama's side, he noticed a random man dart out of the crowd and come up behind them quickly. He barrelled forward so fast he was moments away from smashing into Tama's side. Tenzou did not like that and quickly jumped between them right as he was about to hit Tama.
The stranger had obviously not been expecting that, and let out a startled 'oof' as he quickly ground to a halt, mere inches from Tenzou. The mokuton user took the opportunity to 'accidentally' bump up against their assailant, and just as he'd suspected, he felt the sharp jab of a kunai or some sort of knife at the mans side. Tenzou held his ground and the stranger glared at him.
"Do you mind?"
"Sorry, friend." Tenzou murmured, his eyes narrowed. "I was just trying to get past you."
"Well, then move." the man bit back. Tenzou noticed a scar on his forehead that was almost covered by a headband.
"Just curious...why are you carrying a weapon at a festival?" Tenzou enquired with the utmost innocence. The man instantly stiffened.
"I always carry it with me. There are bandits everywhere on the road. Do you have a problem?"
"No problem. You may want to leave it at your hotel next time, though. It's quite suspicious, as I'm sure you're aware."
The two shinobi glared at each other so heatedly and for so long that Tama stepped forward cautiously.
"Ah...Hanj? Everything alright?"
The man took that ice breaker as his opportunity to snort loudly and spin away from Tenzou.
He came face to face with Gai.
The ANBU shinobi said nothing, just stared evenly at the stranger, his arms crossed tensely across his chest. The man side stepped, obviously perturbed, and stormed off silently. Gai and Tenzou exchanged looks as Tama glanced between them with obvious confusion.
"What was that...?" he asked, his eyes wide. Tenzou turned to him with a smile.
"Nothing. We just didn't like his attitude. You didn't see, but he was about to knock you over, he was running by so fast."
"Oh..." Tama responded, but the two shinobi noted how nervous he looked. "Ah, well, you're right. I'm sure it was nothing."
"Let's continue to the park, shall we?" Tenzou suggested, trying to keep the mood light to ease Tama's mind. The young man nodded, looking a little more placated, and together the three continued on their way. The crowd was considerably thinner further along, so Tenzou was able to see the people around them far easier. He was, obviously, on extremely high alert. Someone had probably just tried to kill Tama. The situation was as bad as Maiku had thought.
Movement caught Tenzou's eye and he whipped his head around. He had no idea where the hell a cloaked figure had come from, but he was running straight for Tama and his hand was clenched around something under his cloak. If Tenzou's life was easier, he would have just wood released the douchebag into next year. Unfortunately, the mission was overcomplicated and he had to act 'like a civilian'. All Tenzou had time to do was throw himself between them and catch the mans arm. He used his body weight to spin the attacker as much as possible, but his enemy still manage to slice Tenzou's side cleanly with his kunai. Tenzou cursed and tossed the man as far as he could throw him without using chakra. Their enemy spun around on his heel, his balance thrown off. He didn't have time to recover, as Gai grabbed him by the throat, whipped his arm back and punched him so hard in the face that his head cracked back with a loud 'snap'.
"HANJ!" Tama cried, running to Tenzou's side. The mokuton user had dealt with far worse than a stabbed side, so he was still standing, wound up and ready to fight. He realized, at seeing Tama's horror, that this was not normal for a civilian. Gai threw the ninja to the ground and repeatedly, sloppily punched him in the face. There was a crowd gathering and a few brave men were running to help him, so Tenzou assumed he would be alright.
To keep up appearances, Tenzou fell to one knee and clutched his side dramatically. "Ah...I'm...I'm fine..."
Tama bent down, placing both his hands over Tenzou's wound. "You're not fine, damnit. I can't believe this..."
Tenzou was only sort of paying attention to Tama, as his wound wasn't even close to fatal, but instead had his eyes set on Gai. He had effectively pummelled their attacker senseless, and quite a few people had figured out what was going on and were helping him restrain the enemy. Tenzou noted a couple of men slap Gai on the back and give him a roaring thumbs up. If only they knew Gai could have killed that bastard with one punch if he'd been able to. Perhaps the man who attacked them was actually a half decent ninja, but he'd clearly NOT been expecting anyone to protect Tama, and Gai had gotten a clean hit without any effort at all.
After around ten minutes a doctor finally tended to Tenzou's wound. She commented, VERY LOUDLY, about his rock hard abs and asked him what the hell his secret was.
"Uhh...I lift...a lot of wood..."
She laughed and patted his stomach uncomfortably close to his wound. "Well, damn. I'm surprised that knife even made a dent, . Clearly I should get my husband to chop more wood, haha!"
Tenzou laughed nervously. She finally left after giving him some antibiotic cream and a few clean bandages for later. Gai was still being interviewed by around fifteen people about his bravery. He looked like he was desperately trying not to leap up and shout about his youth and his victory and the power of friendship. Tenzou felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Tama staring at him with a look on his face that Tenzou could only peg as searching.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, Tama. I'm fine, don't worry."
The other man paused, looking like he wasn't sure if he should continue. "That was incredibly brave of you and your friend. Really...really brave."
Taking Tama's tone, his questions and his body language into account, Tenzou surmised he was catching onto them quite quickly. Either he knew his father really well, or he was incredibly perceptive. Although, Tenzou assumed it wasn't exactly brain surgery figuring out that people you met only two days ago being selfless enough to take a knife for you probably wasn't all that common.
He smiled anyway. "It's nothing. I acted instinctively."
"You've got great instincts. And Yu has a mean right hook. And a left hook, actually..."
Tenzou let him finish talking before he blinked up at him in confusion. "Is something wrong, Tama...?"
It really looked like Tama wanted to say something, but at the last second, his entire body relaxed. He broke out into a smile. "I'm very grateful." he whispered.
"It's al-"
Tenzou was promptly cut off when Tama kissed him confidently. It took Tenzou completely by surprise and he froze instantly, his eyes wide. He had absolutely no idea what to do. Literally dozens of people were staring at them in shock. He couldn't just toss the poor guy off of him and utterly humiliate him.
Thankfully, he didn't have long to worry about it. Tama broke the kiss and winked at him. Tenzou stared, his mouth slightly open, his entire face red.
"...Uh...you didn't...have to do that..."
Tama merely grinned impishly. "How could I resist?"
Maiku appeared a moment later and spared Tenzou any further distress. "Tama! What the hell happened? Oh..." he gasped, looking down at Tenzou, a large bloody gauze taped to his side. He whirled around on his son. "Get to the council chambers immediately. You!" he called, pointing to Gai. "Accompany him."
Gai looked incredulous at how he was being spoken to, but he sighed and nodded regardless. He waved to his adoring fans and walked up to Tenzou, placing a soft hand on his shoulder.
"Are you alright?" he asked, and his eyes told Tenzou he meant more than just the wound. Tenzou closed his eyes buried his face in his hands.
"Yes..." came the muffled reply. "You can go, don't worry about me. I'll head back to the hotel room."
Gai nodded and turned to Tama. He gently placed his hand at the blue eyed youth's elbow and guided him away from the crowd. Tama sent Tenzou a sympathetic look over his shoulder, than followed Gai's lead.
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When Tenzou reached their hotel room, he was surprised to see Kakashi up and sipping on some tea. He looked like he was going to greet Tenzou casually, but instantly jumped to his feet when he saw the blood on his clothes.
"What happened?"
Tenzou sighed heavily and sank down across from him at the table. "Tama was attacked. I had the guy right in my sights...I could have sent him flying easily. But, all I could do as a civilian was protect Tama. I managed to divert his attack away from my heart, but he still nicked me."
Kakashi walked around the table and sank to his knees in front of Tenzou, moving his jacket and checking his wound. "It's been treated well."
"Yes, a nurse saw to me."
"What happened to the enemy?"
Tenzou smiled brightly. "Gai got him. We caused quite a scene, so a crowd formed quickly and a few people helped him out. The attacker is in the custody of the village. Oh, before this happened, I'm pretty sure I managed to divert an initial attack just minutes before. Someone rushed up to Tama, so I intersected them. I got there far too quickly for him to pull out his weapon, but I felt it against his side under his robes. I couldn't really do much about it, so I just scared him off. I guess they were pretty determined to finish the job today."
Kakashi looked down, obviously frustrated. His brows knit together tightly. "I'm sorry, Tenzou. That is a lot for you two to deal with when you can't fight properly."
In response, Tenzou gently pressed their foreheads together. Kakashi's eyes flicked up in surprise. Tenzou merely smiled warmly. "It's not your fault, Kakashi. Breaking up into teams was the only way for us to watch him constantly without tiring ourselves."
"Tired is better than injured." Kakashi grumbled. "I underestimated the situation. We only have one night and one day to go; we'll all stay on him."
Tenzou laughed and ran a comforting hand through Kakashi's hair. "Alright."
Kakashi smiled, grasped Tenzou's hand and kissed the back of it lightly. It sent a whirlwind of butterflies through Tenzou's stomach. He saw so little of Kakashi the last two days that any moment they shared meant a lot to him. Kakashi noticed his affect on Tenzou, his sharp eyes catching his kouhai's in amusement and desire.
The moment was ruined for Tenzou at the memory of how Tama had decided to thank him. It made him feel guilty, despite not initiating or encouraging the kiss. He knew he needed to tell Kakashi. Tenzou took a deep breath, then sighed it out. "Ah...I should...tell you something..."
Kakashi's face fell. He could tell he wasn't going to enjoy the news.
"What?"
"Well...I mean, it was so strange because he was acting weird, like he didn't buy the whole 'civic duty' act I tried to pull on him about why we'd saved him, and then all of a sudden he, uh..."
Kakashi looked unimpressed. Tenzou laughed nervously.
"...Kinda kissed me."
Unimpressed was an understatement.
"Kind of?"
"Well. He...full on...kissed me. BUT, I think there was some other kind of motivation to it, you should have seen...ah...nevermind."
Kakashi actually looked like he was trying not to do something rash. Tenzou had never seen that kind of look on his face before. His captain always looked calm and in control, like nothing could ever bother him. This bothered him.
"Please, it's nothing, Kakashi. I honestly think he's onto us, as in, he knows we may have been hired to protect him. I think we did the best we could with our restrictions, but you have to admit, people you've only known for two days who are supposed to be wealthy, coddled merchant children risking their lives to save you is pretty unthinkable. He already thought it was weird that I was "in shape". Then there's Gai...imagine seeing someone who is supposed to be socially awkward knock someone unconscious without thinking about it."
Kakashi sighed loudly. "Well. This is also my fault, so I can't really be upset."
Tenzou cocked an eyebrow. He had a feeling Kakashi hadn't paid attention to what he said.
"You told me to ease up on you and Tama, but I was being stubborn, so I didn't. Now he got a kiss in. Fine. I hope he enjoyed it."
Kakashi stood suddenly, Tenzou slightly worried about what was going to happen. "Ah...Senpai?"
"Genma should be back soon. I'm going to go check the situation out."
Tenzou stood, too, then winced in pain. "Senpai, don't say anything to him."
The copy-nin smirked. "Maybe."
"Kakashi-senpai..."
With an evil grin, Kakashi turned and walked towards the door. Tenzou knew he was dodging the question on purpose to make him squirm. Squirm he did.
It seemed the universe had other plans, however. Just as Kakashi got close enough to the door to open it, it swung open on its own. Genma came in with Gai leaning heavily on his shoulder, his side also patched up. Both Tenzou and Kakashi gasped simultaneously.
"Gai!" Tenzou shouted. "What...? They attacked Tama again?"
"Yeah..." Gai murmured as Genma gently let him down onto a cushion, Kakashi helping to support him. "We almost made it to the council chambers when three of them appeared out of the crowd. I do not understand why they are suddenly attacking so much, and in broad day light. It seems unnecessary. One person, at night, could do the job just fine."
Kakashi knelt beside Gai, obviously concerned. "Is it bad?"
"No, my friend. It's not a serious wound." Gai grinned. "I got creative. There was a fountain near by, and splashing can cover up quite a bit. I ended up half drowning two of them."
"And the third?" Kakashi asked quietly.
Gai sighed and pointed to his injury. "I ran out of ideas."
Kakashi suddenly looked furious. He stood again, glaring down at the floor. Tenzou almost physically recoiled, his captain was damn intimidating when he looked so angry.
"This ends now. No one else is getting hurt for nothing." He dodged around his two kneeling friends and headed straight for the door. "No one leave." he tossed over his shoulder, and then he was gone.
Tenzou put a hand on Gai's knee. "Do you need anything?"
"Water would be quite nice!"
Tenzou went to fetch the pitcher in the room. He couldn't believe two high level shinobi had gotten injured on the same day, just because they weren't allowed to act like ninja.
"This is pretty fucked." Genma sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"At least it is almost over." Gai offered happily. "Just tonight and tomorrow."
"Well. Now we know why they're paying us so much money."
Tenzou and Gai nodded in agreement. Yes, indeed.
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