LOOK-IT! I GOT MY FLASHDRIVE BACK I'M SO EXCITABLE YOU CANNOT BELIEVEHOWHAPPYIWASWHENICHEC KEDMYMAILANDITWASTHEREISWEAR IDIDAHAPPYDANCE! *Takes a deep breath*... Right well... here's the next chapter in the story...
DISCLAIMERS: I do not own anything by Masashi Kishimoto. I only own my own OC(s) that may appear in this story.
Previously
"Find me a group of four to escort Miss. Rurousha around. Tell them they are not allowed to lose her from their sight." She was answered from a low growl, all eyes turned to Kumo who hadn't realized she did it. As her apology she lowers her head in a some-what bow before turning her head to the window again.
"Yes, Hokage-sama." Ken bows again before he and his silent partner leave the room in search for Kumo's new jail-keepers.
For the next twenty minutes the office was quiet; the lady had gotten someone to get her a new sake bottle and she was now occupying her time drinking while Naruto started to fall asleep on the small couch that sat against one wall. As for Kumo, she was staying exactly where she was, in the exact same position; arms crossed inside her kimono, head turned to view the window and eyes trailing on the clouds that roamed over the sky. A nock on the door caused the lady to look up with slight panic before hiding her sake bottle while Naruto fell off the couch and Kumo to not react, as if she wasn't there in spirit, only body. The door opened and Ken popped his head in; he offers another of his trademark smiles before opening the door wider and allowing four ninja to step inside.
"Lady Hokage," Ken states; he was offering himself up as a stall for the drunken Hokage to get her bearings. "I found the four shinobi that you asked for. It was decided that Team Gai be her escort as of now, is that okay with you?"
The lady smiles at the thought of the team before nodding. "Yes, that is excellent. Thank you, Ken, are they here?"
Ken's smile grows before he nods, "Yes they are."
"Then let them in. It's best if Miss. Rurousha meets her new escorts as soon as possible."
"Um… Lady Hokage?" Ken was hesitant, glancing over his shoulder at the small group before scratching his head. "They're already here."
While the lady sputters Kumo turns her head slightly to look at her new companions. She wasn't all to surprised when she meet the eyes of the male Hyuuga and the youthful Rock Lee; what she was surprised about was that Lee's sensei looked like an older version of him. Next to the Hyuuga stood a young brunette wearing a white and maroon Chinese outfit, her hair pulled up into matching buns. All of them stood in a straight line, looking very respectful as their leader slurs at Ken for bringing them in when she wasn't ready; she admits to herself that they had great control of their emotions, at least when it came to pretending that their leader wasn't drunk. Clearing his throat the older Lee steps forward and bows to the leader; he seemed to think that enough was enough.
"Lady Tsunade." His voice was strong and light, obviously he was showing her respect for both her power and her femininity. "If I may interrupt, why was Team Gai assembled here today? I assumed we had two weeks' vacation from the mission we just completed."
"Ah, right." She seemed to sober up quickly. "I have an important mission for you to do; you will not leave the village but it will take all of your skills as shinobi." Her eyes slide over to the young woman who had turned back to the windows, her hair seemingly moving gently in a nonexistent breeze. "I want your team to watch over Miss Kyoui-kumo; make sure she does not leave the village until she cooperates with my wishes, understood?"
Before the older Lee could speak up the younger one strides forward and bows, "Excuse me, Fifth Hokage!" His voice was loud with youth and it caused both the Lady and the elder Lee to cringe slightly. "PERHAPS I CAN INQUIRE AS TO WHY MISS KUMO HAS TO STAY HERE?"
"Er…" The older one grabs ahold of the younger one and pulls him behind him before flashing a bright and sparkle filled smile. "Excuse his excitement, Lady Tsunade; he cannot contain his exciting youth!"
Sighing Tsunade waves her hand dismissively before turning her eyes to the young female staring out the window. "Young lady," She starts, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly, "I would like you to meet Might, Gai, the leader of this four-man cell, Tenten-"
"Hyuuga, Neji and Rock, Lee." Her head turns and she offers the woman a small, understanding smile. "Yes, I know who they are." She didn't wait to see what the woman would do next; instead she turns and heads straight for the door. "Now that I know who my jailors will be I will see myself out. If I understand correctly you will not allow me to live until I give you something I do not have, there is no reason for me to stick around here then." She offers a small, mocking bow before slipping through the doors and down the stairs.
It was exactly three seconds before Lee caught up to her, and two seconds after that for the rest of the group to join them. For the next few minutes of their lives there was complete silence. There was times when Tenten tried to converse with the Swordswoman, but each time she failed miserably when all the woman would do was stop and gaze up at the sky. Lee had turned to throwing punches at an invisible foe for his training that he was currently loosing due to his new assignment and Tenten retreated to the back of the group to walk next to Neji. Their sensei was content to walking besides his young double, offering a few pointers to the boy when he would notice something slightly off; it was dusk when she finally stopped.
"I assume you will have posts at my hotel to watch me as I sleep?" She inquires softly, turning around to face them with sad, deep green eyes. She seemed unfazed that she had stopped and turned so suddenly Lee's fists was mere centimeters away from touching her nose; tilting her head ever so slightly she looks up at him before turning those sad eyes to his sensei.
"It would seem like we should," Gai muses before a wide grin full of sparkles spreads across his lips, "Or, my youthful little cloud, you could alternate between each of our houses! Wouldn't that be great?" He was loud and gutsy, and Lee was the only one of his students that acquired big sparkly eyes and pumped his fists in the air.
"That is a wonderful idea, sensei!" He exclaims, punching the air a few more times before turning to the 'youthful little cloud' and holding out his hand. "YOU SHALL SLEEP OVER AT MY HOUSE TONIGHT!"
Complete silence answered him before her shoulders lower slightly and she nods, "Very well, I suppose I can rest at your house, Lee-kun." A blush of happiness touches the young boy's cheeks before he gives his 'good guy pose' complete with sparkly teeth and a thumbs up.
"Great choice, I shall acquire your stuff!" And with that he rushes off before she could stop him. She shifts her eyes to the remaining group; Tenten was shaking her head with disappointment, Neji had a scowl gracing his face and Gai was grinning wildly from his student's youth.
"I do not have anything besides what is on me." Her voice was matter-of-fact and completely void of any emotion besides that. "Plus…. Lee-kun has no idea where I stayed up until now."
Tenten groans, her hand flying up to smack herself on the forehead before shaking her head. "That idiot…" Sighing she rose her head and places both hands on her hips before shifting her annoyed eyes to the swordswoman. "Looks like your rooming with me then, come 'on." Motioning with her head she turns to walk away, completely leaving the swordswoman to decide if she would follow or not. Her eyes turn to look at the remaining two males before tilting her head up to the sky, watching with half lidded eyes as her name sake floats across her sight with lazy indifference. She sighs before shaking her head slowly and turning to walk after the only female in the four-man-jail-cell.
It took twenty minutes to get from where they were when she asked her question to the small home of Tenten. It was modest, with blue shutters and a small front lawn with fluffy green grass; she didn't live in the busy part of the village but at the same time she didn't live in the secluded part. Obviously she wasn't a part of an important clan for she would have a huge house, this one only sat at two stories with a porch big enough for a comfortable looking rocking chair besides the front door. Tenten turns her head slightly and flashes a smile before jogging up the three porch steps and bursting through the front door.
"I'm home!" She calls out, only to be thrown to the ground by two small boys. She lets out an amused laugh as the boys try to tickle her before one of them looks up to see Kumo standing there in silence. He froze, only moving to nudge the boy next to him before that one froze too. With choppy short brown hair both boys had identical big brown eyes and button nose; dirt smudges coated their cheeks and their clothes looked like it could use a wash but they seemed like the typical seven year olds.
"Ah…" One started before the other one jumps and grabs ahold of his shirt sleeve.
"STRANGER DANGER!" The standing boy screams before they both bolt inside and around the corner. Tenten sits up, leaning on her elbows to watch where the twins retreated before tilting her head back and grins at the silent swordswoman. When she didn't return the smile Tenten's smile slowly diminished before she sighs and stands up.
"Sorry 'bout them, they act like this with everyone so no worries." She motions with her head to enter before kicking off her shoes. "Come on in."
For several heartbeats she didn't move but then she steps forward and slowly up the porch before closing the door behind her and slipping off her getas. She glanced around the hallway adored with family photos and her heart constricts slightly, running her tongue over her top lip she slowly walks down the hallway and turns the corner where the twins and Tenten disappeared too. It was a decent sized kitchen, with pale yellow walls decorated with roosters and white cabinets and counters; it looked worn from daily use and constant traffic. She blinks slowly when a woman wearing a white apron appears in front of her holding a spatula.
"Hi," She said cheerfully, her brown hair was bobbed and her eyes were the same brown as the siblings. "You're a new face, are you Tenten's new friend?" Before she could answer Tenten comes into view with a glass of orange juice and smiles brightly.
"She's a mission the Hokage gave my team, tonight she'll be staying with us if that's okay with you, ma." Kumo blinks slowly again, apparently this girl didn't hide much from her mother.
"Oh how nice!" The mother exclaims before pulling Kumo into a hug; she froze, unsure as to what she should do before she spots two heads peeking out from behind the counter.
"Mommy," One yells before the other one pipes in, "She's a stranger!"
"Oh, nonsense," The mother snaps, pulling away from the stiff swordswoman and shaking her spatula in a scolding manner. "She is a guest and we treat our guests with respect!"
She gives both boys a narrowed eyed look before smiling brightly and turning to Kumo; grabbing her hand quickly she didn't allow the Rurouni enough time to object before she pushes her into a seat at the kitchen table and takes a step back. Setting her hands on her hips she raised a delicate eyebrow, her lips smiling mischievously.
"Now then," she starts, looking the Rurouni up and down slowly. "What is the name of the mission that the Hokage gave my daughter? Sure you have a name, or do we call you Swords?"
Owlishly blinking it took her a moment or two before she finally found her voice. "…My name is Rurousha, Kyoui-Kumo… but people just call me Kumo." She wasn't at all comfortable with the woman standing over her like a bald eagle towers over her young; she wasn't use to feeling like a baby chick. The woman grins and pats Kumo on her head, ruffling her dark strands a big before moving away and behind the counter where she started to cook.
"That is a very nice name, Ku-Chan; you can call me 'ma' or 'mama' while you're here." She flashes Kumo another bright grin before nodding towards Tenten, who, after closer inspection from Kumo, was blushing with embarrassment. All this time she was just quietly leaning against the refrigerator but as soon as her mother made that comment her compositor was broken and she was shocked.
"Ma," The young kunichi exclaims, slamming her cup lightly onto the counter. "She already has a ma she doesn't need to call you that!"
The mother turns back to her oldest child with innocent eyes before looking down slowly, "I only wanted to make her feel at home…" Trailing off she sniffs, turning her head slightly so her daughter couldn't read her face.
"Ah…" Tenten looks to the twins who shook their head with disapproval before shifting her gaze to the quietly shocked swordswoman, who at the moment wasn't showing exactly how shocked the woman words were to her. "Ma," She whines, throwing her hands up in defeat a second later, "FINE, but only if she wants to!" She lets out a groan of annoyance when her mother jumps up and exclaims 'yes!', no tears on her face. "This is going to be a looong night..." She finally drifts off before dropping into the seat next to the stunned Rurouni.
SOOOO I GOT MY FLASHDRIVE IN THE MAIL TODAY (scared the local residence with my happy dance) AND RACED BACK TO MY ROOM IN A WRITERS FRENZY. I WROTE ALL OF THIS TODAY AND I'LL HAVE MORE LAAATER THIS WEEK (probably around saturday or sunday) OH OH OH OH ANNNDD I STARTED MY COLLEGE CLASSES TOOODAAAYYYY SO WOOOOOTTTTTTTTTTT
Oh, and I have no idea about Tenten's family, in fact she is probably one of my least favorite characters in Naruto because I don't know anything about her life (family wise)... so i just winged it while writing this. (Sorry to all you Tenten fans!)