Hope you enjoy! ^^

Chapter 10: Joint training session

The next morning went as smoothly as it could. Kankuro was up earlier than Tenten, and he woke her while sneaking into the bathroom.

She got up and made tea. The breakfast was made according to her culinary skills — cheese toast. The kunoichi didn't know if Kankuro liked that meal or not, but he had already eaten it once and didn't complain about it.

Next in their new morning routine was preparing for the day, including getting dressed, grabbing the leftover pasta for lunch, taking their backpacks and scrolls, and going out. They walked together to the training area and said goodbye to each other when their paths had to part.

Kankuro's mind was focused on his new teammates and the training that awaited him.

Tenten was somehow excited that she would have a training session with the sand shinobi in a few hours. She was curious about his abilities and fighting style. More than that, she would never admit it, but she would be able to compare him to Neji in the field. Faint guilt creeped in the back of her mind, but she successfully kicked it aside.

The lunch break came fast enough for both the Gai and Kurenai's teams. And after that, the eight shinobi gathered and started the joint training session.

Tenten really wanted to have the opportunity to fight with Kankuro, but their seniors had different plans. The sand shinobi was assigned to spar with Gai himself.

The team leaders claimed that it was important to make an assessment of Kankuro's style and skills so all sides could profit most from the situation.

Kankuro, on the other hand, suspected that Gai probably had most experience fighting with puppeteers — a legacy of a fighting style exclusively in Suna. He turned out to be right. While he fought with Kiba, he didn't use field covers and was handling just Karasu. Standing up against Gai required real efforts — hiding, using all the available cover at all times, and taking out his second puppet, Kuroari. The frustrating part was that Gai didn't seem to invest all his strength in the match. Not that Kankuro took all the aces out his sleeve, but he was used to seeing people trying really hard in their fights with him. And no matter how skilled the puppeteer was with deceit and avoidance, he still received some hard kicks and hits. Anyway, his puppets took most of the damage and were in need of repair, something he had to deal with later on. Kankuro wasn't happy about the fact in the least.

Truth be told, the sand shinobi hoped to see Tenten in action and get some impressions of her in the fight. Gai didn't let him have any opportunities to look away for even a moment.

When the training session was over, the two teams took some time to catch their breaths. All the shinobi positioned themselves on a meadow and started doing their finishing routine: Neji and Lee unwrapped the bandages from their hands; Hinata meditated; Kiba and Akamaru lay down on the grass, spreading their limbs; and Gai and Kurenai sat on the grass cross-legged, talking. Kankuro usually discussed the training with his siblings, but now he took the time to assess the damage done to his puppets with a critical eye. Tenten drank some water and started the process of stretching her body from the legs to the neck. She resembled a cat with her smooth movements, flowing effortlessly from one to the next with a grace that reminded him of Temari.

Lee lifted his big, round eyes, smiling at Tenten. "You look way better today, Tenten," he noted.

"Thanks. I feel better, Lee." She beamed at him and bent ahead to hug her straight knees.

As she slowly straightened her body up, she curved her spine backward, and held it this way for a good ten seconds.

Neji got up on his feet and stood behind her while waiting for her arms to lift up above her head. Without a word, he slid his forearms in front of her shoulders, then tangled his fingers behind her head, locking her upper body. She took a deep breath, and while she let it out, Neji moved his elbow to the sides, forcing Tenten's upper spine to curve to the front. Kankuro heard a distinctive crack, which could have come only from her back.

The sand shinobi raised an eyebrow — no one seemed to react in any way, so he deduced it was something they, as teammates, normally did. He used to crack Gaara's back some time ago in a similar way, but their technique differed slightly. Kankuro would lift his brother's body from the ground, and while laying him briefly on his chest, he'd make a sharp shake down, straightening and pulling the spine down using gravity. It might've been a good idea to learn how Neji performed the back cracking, in case Tenten needed it done when they were in Suna.

"Do you get along with him?" Neji asked, whispering in her ear. His breath caressed her skin, and she flinched, which made him raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"Yes. He's fine," she replied honestly, though her voice came out breathless.

"I'm glad. I started to get worried when I saw you yesterday," he admitted. A warm feeling diffused all over her body, starting from her chest. She smiled at him over her shoulders, a slight blush creeping up her cheeks. Neji returned her smile. She was really dear to him, and he didn't want her to suffer or feel bad. After the final crack of her back, he released her and reassuringly squeezed her shoulder.

"You'll handle this, Tenten."

She just nodded, incapable of saying anything.

"Oi, Kankuro!" Kiba sat up. "My place, 7 o'clock. Bring chips." He got up, almost jumping, and shook his body out to remove the dirt and the grass.

Kankuro sighed and looked at his new teammate.

"Got it," he confirmed.

During the morning session, Kurenai told him they needed to perform a short mission on Friday, which he wouldn't be part of. Technically, the next time he would see them, it would be at Kiba's place.

"See you, Kankuro-san." Hinata waved. She turned to walk in the compound's direction. Neji followed her silently. He didn't miss the opportunity to look at Kankuro over his shoulder with a blank face.

Tenten said goodbye to both cousins while her hand lay on the spot where Neji had touched her shoulder. It was as if she never considered what she was doing, but Kankuro noticed. He wouldn't make a public fuss about it in any case. Although he was unhappy that his guess turned out to be correct, his little, sweet, fierce future wife had a weak spot for her Hyuuga teammate. He clicked quietly with his tongue — the only sign of irritation he would let himself display. Kankuro was aware that he couldn't do much about it, unless maybe he tried to develop her tolerance for himself, so at least they looked like a proper couple. The prince of Suna shouldn't have allowed his wife's eyes to look elsewhere; it wasn't proper, at the very least, not to mention the big hit on his ego. There must be something he could do, right?

The sand shinobi shifted his weight, his thoughts buzzing in his head. Maybe he should be honest with her and openly discuss what he saw. If he witnessed… that, probably other people would also pay attention at some point. In this case, it might contradict their initial lie and eventually affect his sister. Which was something he wasn't going to let happen.

Tenten turned her full attention to Kankuro; he was frowning and looking at one of his puppets. She took a few steps towards him under Gai and Lee's gazes; the latter's one felt almost materially heavy. Hesitantly, she approached Kankuro's shoulder with her hand but couldn't finish the movement or make herself touch him. Instead, she breathed in and spoke quietly, "Let's go home?"

He snapped out of his reverie with a sharp turn of his head towards her.

"Sure." As he said this, he had already collected himself, looking calm and confident.

Kankuro deftly got up, performing a few hand signs at the same time. His puppets disappeared with a puff, entering their respective scrolls.

"Do you want to go out for a meal later on?" She asked.

"I thought I could cook something for both of us." He grinned. "We still have a movie to watch." And talk, he added inwardly.

Her eyes lit up, and a bright smile graced her lips. "You wanna watch the other one tonight?! Really?" Tenten looked so excited as if she wanted to jump, which, fortunately, she didn't do.

"Why not?" He shrugged, then picked up his scrolls, and placed them in their holders. "Movie night with a pretty girl? On our own? What is there not to like?" He winked at her, chuckling quietly.

She tried not to blush but failed. Though, truth be told, Gai's smile at her red face seemed genuine. Lee's frown looked genuine as well.

They said their goodbyes.

Before turning to walk away, Kankuro noticed Gai's hand placed on the younger man's shoulder. He had the feeling that if the senior shinobi hadn't held Lee, he would come after them — Tenten and himself.

So when they gained distance and Kankuro was certain they were out of earshot, he shared his observations about her teammate.

"He worries for me a bit too much," she explained with an unhappy smile.

"Isn't that nice?" Kankuro returned a crooked one.

She shrugged. "It's nice, but at the same time, it's exhausting. He's convinced I'm not happy, and you take advantage of me, 'the innocent' little girl."

Kankuro mused for a few moments, then said slowly, "Technically, he's not wrong."

"You're not taking advantage of me and planning to throw me away afterwards," she retorted, slightly annoyed, though she had difficulty hiding her blush.

"Again... technically—" he attempted to repeat his last line when she punched his shoulder, interrupting him.

He faked a pained "ouch", then chuckled. After a sigh, he took on a bit more of a serious tone.

"Well, no." He shook his head. "But if I have to be honest—"

"Tenten!" A female voice echoed, and he shut up immediately.

Tenten waved with both hands to the pink-haired, approaching kunoichi. "Sakura!"

She came closer to them, smiling. "Evening, Kankuro-san."

"Evenin'," he replied with a lazy hand wave. He kind of liked Sakura, as he had had occasional interactions with her before. "Glad to see ya. Been good?"

"I'm glad too. I've been well, thank you." She smiled and hugged Tenten. "You look good together," she whispered in encouragement to her friend.

Tenten turned her head to meet Kankuro's eyes and mouthed, "She knows."

The man nodded, keeping a polite smile on his face.

"I'd love to stay for a few minutes more, but I can't... I'm in a hurry," Sakura excused herself. "Though I just learned that we'll train together tomorrow morning." Her words were directed at the sand shinobi, whose eyebrows twitched.

Tenten giggled. "Don't harm him, alright?"

"Look at you!" He laughed heartily and added with a low whisper, "Real concerned girlfriend."

"He'll be fine." The pink-haired woman waved. "I'll be gentle." She giggled, and before either of them could answer her, she turned and ran down the street.

Kankuro huffed and suppressed a chuckle.

"I should add 'weakling' to 'savage and uneducated dork' to the list of things you think I am." He shook his head. His lips tugged slightly at the edges.

Tenten was serious when she gave him a look and said, "No, it's not that... She's just really strong. I mean it."

He kept his eyes on her for a few moments, weighting her words and tone.

"Alright. I'll keep my guard up, and I'll be careful," he agreed. The kunoichi crossed her hands, disbelief twisting her features, so he added, "I promise."

Tenten observed his face in search of any sign of mockery. When she didn't find any, she took a deep breath and let her arms rest beside her body.

It would've been so much easier if she could look at Kankuro like something else. Like a foster kid under her care, for example. Like if he were a child that she was supposed to take care of while his legal guardian was on a mission. It was safe to see him this way.

The kunoichi glanced at him while they walked side by side. There was a problem with her brief idea — he wasn't a kid; he didn't even resemble one in the slightest.

(Corrected by Enna)

When they reached her flat, Kankuro was the first one to jump in the shower.

He had been craving some beef with traditional Suna spices, rice, and maybe some chopped carrots. The places nearby only offered fried foods for the most part. Sure, they were undoubtedly tasty, but his sister's strict meal routine from their teenage years had stuck with him, soaking into his bones. He cooked for himself anyway, more often than not.

Once out of the shower, Kankuro opened a hidden compartment in his backpack and took out a few little paper bags. Then he went on the hunt for rice, pots, and any other ingredients and equipment he would need. He neatly placed everything on the counter, a quirk he adopted around his puppet building, and began chopping the meat into small pieces. His mind could fly to a faraway place, already dreading the conversation they needed to have.

When Tenten got out of her shower and joined him in the kitchen, he was just placing the dish in the oven.

"Oh, I don't use the oven much," she said as she leaned against the door frame.

"I can see that," he replied evenly. "Food will be ready in about 45 minutes."

"Great! What do you want to do until then?"

"I think we need to talk." His serious tone made her whole insides tighten, and she felt the sudden urge to sit down. So she did, walking over to the table and dropping onto a chair.

"What do you want to talk about?" She asked cautiously.

Kankuro came over and sat down across from her, resting his hands on the table. "There's no easy way to say this," he began, exhaling loudly. "It's about your Hyuuga teammate."

"Neji?" She looked confused.

"You like him," he stated. His voice was lacking in accusation or, in fact, any emotion.

She smiled, letting out the breath she'd been holding. "Of course I do. He's my teammate."

Kankuro shook his head. "I don't mean it like that. I may be wrong — and believe me, I hope I am — but from where I'm standing, it looks like you harbour romantic feelings towards him."

Tenten's jaw dropped, and her face paled. "Why… why would you think that?" She stammered.

"The way you react to him gives it away," he explained calmly.

"I…" She couldn't say anything more; she couldn't bring herself to deny it, even though she wanted to.

He reached out and gently took her hand. She was too shocked to pull away.

"I want you to know that I'm not accusing you of anything. You have your reasons, I suppose. Clearly, you haven't shared whatever this is with him or Tsunade-sama. I'm not here to judge you." She nodded mutely, dumbfounded. "But... you must understand that my sister is dear to me, and she's depending on your performance."

Tenten pulled her hand from his and crossed her arms in front of her chest defensively.

"I need you to be more careful about your demeanour in his presence." He paused, picking his words carefully. "I'm sure your friends are used to seeing you react to him the way you do. But, as you are supposed to be engaged to me, we don't want to give anyone the wrong idea."

"I… I don't know what to say," she whispered, staring blankly at his hands, still peacefully resting on the table.

Tenten sank down into her chair, wishing the floor would open up and swallow her whole. Was she being so obvious?

"I can see how hard on you all of this is." Kankuro paused again.

If she had looked at his face at that moment, she would've seen only compassion. But she didn't, her embarrassed gaze unable to meet his eyes.

"I thought I was doing a good job," she whispered again.

"You are doing a good job. Those reactions of yours... They're subconscious." He unsuccessfully tried to get her to look up at him. "I'm telling you this because I'm trying to direct your attention to something specific, to make you aware of the way your body behaves. Noticing is the first step to correcting a reaction."

Tenten sighed in resignation. "You're right. I'll have to try harder. I'm sorry."

"Thank you," he said, letting all his sincerity show in his tone.

She finally dared to steal a glance at his face and instantly wished she hadn't — his expression was soft, and a melting warmth radiated from his dark eyes. The sight was more than she could take right now. It would have been easier on her if he had been angry and yelled at her for doing the wrong thing. But he hadn't. He had tried to be considerate and thoughtful; he was trying not to insult or belittle her, not to make her feel too awful. It wasn't particularly helpful, as she did feel not only awful but guilty — terribly guilty... but he didn't ask her for an explanation. Didn't even insist he was right.

"What did I do wrong?" Tenten asked quietly.

Kankuro didn't answer right away but still did: "You touched your shoulder after he did."

At that moment, a timer went off, and the man got up to open the oven, mixing up the meat, carrots, and rice. When he closed it again, he braced himself on the counter, sighing.

"I suggest we drop the matter for now," he said, and only then did he turn back to the kunoichi. "I've made my point, and I'm confident you're smart and you'll adjust yourself accordingly."

Tenten's eyebrows shot up at that, even though her eyes kept staring at the table. She couldn't remember the last time someone had called her smart.

"It really seems you should be more… annoyed with me?"

"I'm not happy about it," he admitted slowly, carefully choosing his words. "But I realise we've got to have open communication in order to do this mission. Nothing will change if I don't share my observations with you."

She nodded. "That's true."

"Plus, I kind of like you," he added.

After his last line, she sought his eyes; confusion was written on her face.

Kankuro let his lips form a small smile before elaborating, "You're a good person, Tenten. And besides, we're both adults — everyone comes with baggage, unfortunately."

Tenten smiled for the second time since she had entered the kitchen.

"You know what? I kind of like you, too," she admitted.

"Channel that when we interact outside. Just remember that you 'kind of like me,' and let that feeling carry you."

They were silent for a few slowly passing minutes before Tenten spoke quietly: "How do you feel about it...?"

Kankuro frowned. "What do you mean, exactly? How do I feel about what?"

"Me having feelings for Neji... Are you ok with... them?"

"Not in the slightest," he abruptly denied. "I'm not okay with them, nor do I tolerate them. I understand, though. I'm not gonna be an ass, so long as you manage to hide them well enough, that is."

She stared at him for a moment, mulling over his words. This whole conversation had felt nothing but awkward, although he was right — if they didn't share and synchronise their observations, nothing would change, and thus nothing would improve.

Kankuro had insisted they drop the matter and try to enjoy the rest of the evening. She couldn't have agreed more with him. So, they'd sunk into a pleasant and informative conversation about the Konoha hot spring houses and how Suna hadn't been granted with many. It was a safe topic, for which both were grateful and gladly stuck to it. She ended up promising to take him to her favourite inn with a hot spring, about half a day away. He agreed. Both of them knew this was not going to happen for real but rather was just a polite end to their conversation.

Tenten was surprised to find out that the meal Kankuro cooked not only smelled great but was also tasty. In her team, Gai-sensei was the main cook; then came Lee, then herself. Neji was used to having servants take care of insignificant stuff like cooking, laundry, cleaning, etc., so he wasn't good at any of those. He probably would've been if he had to do any of it; he could, of course, do the basics, but that was all. That had been a serious difference between Tenten, Lee, and Neji — the latter had grown up in different conditions. However, it wasn't his choice.

"It's good," she admitted after swallowing a mouthful and leaning back in her chair with a content smile on her lips. "I didn't believe you when you said you could cook."

"Why would I lie?" he asked between two bites.

She shrugged, not having an answer to this question. There really wasn't a valid reason he would've lied about his cooking skills. Well, lying to make themselves look better than reality was something guys did on a regular basis. But they'd do that in case they wanted to make an impression or hit on someone. Kankuro didn't seem to want either of these.

"I don't lie," the man reiterated. "I think I already told you that."

Tenten nodded; she started to believe him.

A few minutes later, Kankuro seemed to have sunk into his thoughts. So, she decided not to disrupt the obvious need for quiet. Instead, she occasionally glanced at him, wondering what was troubling his mind.

After they'd finished eating, Tenten insisted on cleaning up, so he obediently sat down and waited for her to finish. It felt weird to him. At home, where he usually cooked, there was no one to clean up after him, and whenever there was someone to clean instead of him, he wasn't supposed to cook at all. The last one was the case in the Kazekage patrimony, where every service had a person behind it. The personnel hated it if Kankuro came to the kitchen with the intention of cooking. He was kind of banned there.

When Tenten wiped the last plate dry, they retreated to the living room in silence.

"I'm sorry, I don't feel like watching a movie tonight," Tenten admitted.

He side-glanced her while grabbing a scroll. A few hand signs later, Karasu appeared on the small table.

"It may be better this way. I've got some homework to do, thanks to your Gai-sensei," he said, a crooked smile on his lips.

"He's a great shinobi." She hurried to defend him.

Kankuro stilled his movements and looked straight into her eyes, giving her a sharp feeling of uneasiness. There was something intense in the dark depths of his pools, something resembling smouldering coals... Anger, perhaps?

"I've never said he wasn't, Tenten," was his deliberately slow answer.

"Right…" She stepped back, unable to look away, and aimed to hide in her room.

When she finally passed the door, she gave him an apologetic smile just before uttering, "G'night!"

"Good night, Tenten," he wished her, his gaze directed at the puppet.

The kunoichi gladly disappeared into her bedroom. She needed a few moments to pull herself together. Tenten didn't like the danger in Kankuro's eyes; she didn't like it directed at her. It felt like she was on the pointy side of a kunai, but worse.

She tried to shake off the thoughts about her fake fiance with a long, hot shower. The success was just temporary. The next thing she was going to use as a distraction was to burrow herself into a story.

But her curiosity still gnawed at her brain. Had the door been at least cracked open, she'd have peeked through it to satisfy it at least partially.

Tenten opened her book with a sigh. The moment her eyes met the letters, instead of focusing, her mind drifted away from the story line. She went back to today's training session, scrolling through everything that had happened until the moment they all performed their finishing rituals on that meadow. She physically felt Neji's touch as if he were right here, beside her. She remembered vividly his worried gaze and the extreme gentleness he invested in cracking her back. He usually hated to do that, even when she practically begged him. The initiative today was solely his, and it felt nice. Tenten could say without a doubt that Neji cared for her; this knowledge whirled inside her chest like a big, warm ball.

She was aware that Neji was painfully strict, meaning that if he had a mission, he would go through hell to complete it. So, if part of his task was to make sure she was alright, he would be more careful than usual. Remembering that trait of his character kind of ruined the whole 'considerate Neji' thing.

A quiet curse came from the living room, accompanied by a crack and snap.

Tenten jumped out of bed and reached the door in a leap. She entered the living room and met Kankuro's eyes under raised eyebrows. He huffed and smirked.

"Don't you worry now. I'm not quite dead," he said, focusing his eyes on hers. "See? Still moving," he added, waving his arms like bird wings; there was audible teasing in his voice.

"I…" She felt a heat on her cheeks, but it was too late to go back now. "I was worried for the flat, not for you!"

"You think I'm clumsy and foolish enough to destroy your property?" The smirk persisted on his lips when he added mockingly, "That's yet another thing to add to that list..."

"Ufff…" Tenten crossed her arms.

Kankuro got up, shaking his head, and took some schemes from the place where he piled them on the carpet.

"Your flat is fine, Tenten. You can go back to whatever you were doing," the man said with feigned seriousness. "I'm fine too, by the way."

The kunoichi let out a heavy sigh and tapped her foot on the floor.

"What happened?" she asked finally.

"There was a miscalculation in one of my new micro-launching mechanisms. I have to find out what exactly is wrong." He pulled out a few empty papers and a pen and sat on the floor. Before starting to scribe, he lifted his head and looked at Tenten. "That's what you get when you outsource a tricky job to someone else."

"Then you shouldn't do it again," she pointed out the obvious, gaining a low, irritated growl.

"Yes, thank you; I haven't thought about that." His words were heavy with irony.

"Hey!" She snapped. "I didn't give your work to someone else! You did!"

Kankuro let out a deep breath, closing his eyes briefly.

"Sorry," he said, looking at her. "Not your fault. It's just… There are many things that could be the problem, and I need to check them all. By all the fucked-up rules of the universe, it will be the last thing on my list. I just know it." Kankuro tiredly rubbed his face. "And I'm already washed out. I rarely let anyone else work on the puppets," he mumbled. "I had to double check it."

Tenten's shoulders slumped down at the image of him.

"You've been too hard on yourself, you know," she shared.

"Nope. I've been realistic. Had I been attacked and needed to use this particular mechanism, I may have gotten hurt. Or worse." He shrugged. "There can't be a compromise with a shinobi's weapons. You, of all people, should know that."

Tenten didn't have to think over his words to agree. He should've checked his puppets after someone else had worked on them. Vocalising this, though, wouldn't help him at all. So she decided to retreat and leave him with his work.

"Well, I hope you find the problem quickly," she genuinely wished him.

"Thanks."

She entered the bedroom, leaving the door slightly opened out of habit. She was about to crash in bed when he called her name. She halted and returned to the door. Peeking through the frame, she raised her eyebrows in a silent question.

"I'm going to stay up for at least two more hours. Better close the door if you want peace."

She nodded. "Don't be shy if you need to use the bathroom before you go to sleep."

"Yes, thank you; I haven't thought about that either." His voice still weighed with irony, but he heard it in time to shut up. Instead, the man waved a hand, gesturing an end to his statement, before she opened her mouth to scold him. "Just leave the bathroom window open. I won't bother you."

She shrugged and didn't comment on that. While closing the door, she cast a last glance at the plans laid out in front of him. It came to her that if Kankuro was able to make and read those schemes and build functioning battle puppets, he couldn't be stupid. He might actually be smarter than she initially suspected. Also, frankly, weapons and engineering were things that interested and attracted her. Maybe that was just another safe matter they could talk about.

Tenten settled into her bed. Her hand reached for the bed stand to switch off the lights. She was going to try to get some sleep.

What felt like hours later, Tenten was still staring at the ceiling. Her mind was frantic; it wouldn't let her relax and fall into the embrace of sleep. The quiet rattling coming from the living room had stopped a few moments ago. Shortly after, she heard the water in the bathroom running. About ten minutes later, due to her inner clock, all the noise had stopped.

Sleep finally came and carried her, screeching, on its shattered wings towards a nightmare. She found herself sobbing just like that night before — drifting between sleep and awake, incapable of taking hold of her emotions.

Kankuro heard the sobs and stood in front of her door for some time, hesitant to enter. His heart ached in his chest, but he couldn't force himself in. It still felt like a sanctuary he was not welcome in. He bit his lip and returned to the couch. Maybe he could talk her through this as well? Maybe if she told him what the problem was, it would ease up on her. Anyway, it was just a 'maybe'.

This time, the sobs didn't subside until the morning hours. Kankuro hadn't been able to sleep properly.

When Tenten was already awake, Kankuro tried to gently open the matter for discussion, but it turned out she didn't remember anything. She admitted she didn't feel rested, but that was all.

The breakfast itself was mostly silent. Tenten tried to ask him about the problem with his puppet, but he gave only one-word answers, obviously not excited to talk about the matter. At the end, he shared that he needed a specific part and would have to order it from Suna, which would delay his repairs.

"Are you sure you can't find that part here?" She inquired.

"You don't use puppets; there is no reason to sell rare parts for them. So yes, I'm certain." He sighed. "No offence, but this part should be done following my scheme. And I don't trust your engineers so much."

Tenten eyed him. It sounded a bit rude, but she could understand the general distrust. Giving away his plans and schemes to a Konoha engineer meant they wouldn't be a secret anymore. He obviously wanted to preserve the puppeteers' fighting style for Suna.

"So how would you proceed? Do you have a vendor to write to, or?"

"I'll write to my former sensei, Baki. He'll send it via bird." He smiled at her dumbfounded expression. "It's a really small thing, that part."

She nodded and got up, ready to start her day.

Kankuro grabbed his things and turned to the kunoichi, asking, "So... where should I look for your really strong friend Sakura?"

Tenten smiled.

Thank you, mfw_no_gf!
Special thanks to Enna, who corrected the actual conversation part with Tenten and Kankuro facing her Neji problem.