Changes available: in reactions mainly; additional inquiry about Tenten's shinobi status; Note to Tenten; the interaction with Kiba is rewritten as well.
Chapter: „Damn it!"
"This is weird," Neji said as they walked toward the village.
"What is it?" Tenten asked, glancing at him.
"Well, all of it. This whole mission…"
"You are telling me that you find this mission weird?" she hissed quietly and accusingly, as if the choice for picking her was his. And even if she sounded exasperated, one could sense she was on the verge of bursting in hopeless, hysterical laughter.
"I'm sorry…" He made a bitter, kind of crooked face. "But in the end, this is—"
She turned around quickly and put a hand over his mouth. Her lips pursed in silent "Shush". When she got an assuring nod, she removed her hand. It was Lee — marching towards them, tensed like a taut string in his green jumpsuit made of spandex. Just the way he usually was.
"Are you two done for today?" he asked with a wide smile; his eyes widened as well, and became even rounder.
"Yes." She nodded and inwardly thanked Lee for his very existence. If it wasn't for him, Neji and herself would have been stuck in that green disaster of a cloth, same as their sensei's.
"OK! Then can we do 600 squats and 1000 push-ups for a rest?" He blinked, the tips of his mouth bent down in his typical pleading facial expression.
Both Neji and Tenten's faces paled. They loved training, there was no arguing there, but with Lee… that was more of an obsession.
"Err, no, I am sorry… We have family dinner, no excuses accepted," declared Neji, and before Lee had the chance to react, the young Hyuga was already far off. Neji could rarely be seen running or rushing for no serious reason. But compared to the alternative of being carried up on his crazy teammate's back, for example… He found that suppressing his pride every now and then and disappearing in thin air would work better.
"But I spoke to Hinata earlier. She said she had a free evening. A… and intended to have dinner with Naruto and Sakura," the black-haired said grimly. Then he turned to his other teammate, who was still present, and smiled widely again. "What about you, Tenten? Don't you want to—"
She interrupted him with a smile, raising slightly the inner ends of her eyebrows "Oh, I have something to do. Something planned."
"You do?" He frowned, his unnaturally thick eyebrows connecting with each other above his nose. He looked confused.
"Well, yes. Home, actually… Oh, I just have to go home." She shook her head, refusing to explain herself further. She didn't have a good lie to tell, and in this case, there was a chance to expose herself needlessly. She needed some more time to prepare herself for…well, everything. Also, she definitely needed to see and talk through and talk through all of the mission's details with the sand shinobi. Kankuro, Tenten corrected herself inwardly. If she was supposed to know him for some time, and communicate with him, she should be comfortable using his name.
Lee now raised his eyebrows, his mouth pouted, expressing genuine sadness and disappointment.
"Could I at least accompany you home?"
"I don't think the idea is g—" She quickly realised, if she softened now, he would go over her head. But Lee bent down and grabbed her by the hand. He used the momentary confusion, pulled her like a ragged doll, threw her over his back, and ran down the street. "Lee!"she yelled, feeling both rage and despair at the same time.
Wonderful… I was hoping to delay going home as much as possible, but now I'm being delivered even faster, she thought sarcastically. She knew Lee's intentions were pure, but this was the opposite of a favour.
Kankuro was very hungry when he woke up. His stomach was rumbling — quite normal, considering the last time he ate was two days ago. The worry about his sister's life had been fueling him during the trip to Konoha, and he never stopped to feed himself. Looking back, he realised this negligence wasn't smart of him.
He got up and went to the kitchen to look for something edible. As he opened the fridge he was very disappointed to find that it was emptier than his stomach. He frowned — an instant flashback made him feel the urge to shout his sister's name. It was a short one, which quickly let him snap back to the current time, and realised shouting wouldn't make any sense. Currently, she was three days travel away and in no state to reply, even "Fuck off, leave me alone!"
Kankuro sighed and started to get dressed so he could go out and get something to fill the giant gap in the place of his stomach. He applied his heavy makeup and paint markings, even if this slowed him down. The young man didn't do it because it was an unavoidable obligation, but because it was a habit soaked into his bones. It was part of him. When he was ready and headed towards the door, something occurred to his mind. If the roles were reversed, and she was in Suna, he would like to know where she had gone. Kankuro returned to his bag and pulled out a paper and pencil. He wrote a few words on it and left it on the small table in the living room. Halting in front of the door, he took one last look at the room before leaving.
When the door closed, a draught of air picked up the piece of paper and gently blew it off into the air. Shortly after, it landed softly on the floor under the table.
Five minutes later Lee stopped in front of Tenten's home and let her down from his back. Her flat, by chance or on purpose, was the same small flat near the park, with a small amount of belongings and an empty fridge.
"Thank you," she said under her breath, and leaned against the wall, still feeling dizzy from the speed and the awful jolting. He really does terrible favours, sometimes, she shouted inwardly, but kept quiet on the matter. He had no idea what he was about to put her into, so she didn't have any right to be mad at him. Although that wasn't fair, she realised. Even without Lee, she would eventually come home and face the problem. Kankuro, she corrected herself again.
"You are very welcome, youthful flower!" Lee grinned, really meaning it.
"Mhm," she mumbled and headed to the building's front door, one hand still brushing the wall for support — mainly mental, in this case.
"Good night, Tenten!" Her teammate waved.
"Good night, Lee," she replied. "And stop training at some point and get some sleep," she added half-teasingly, half-concerned.
Lee grinned, jumped, turned around and ran off as if he had springs attached under his feet. Maybe he would go to sleep, maybe he wouldn't…
Tenten shook her head tiredly before she approached the stairs and began to climb up. After reaching the door and unlocking it, she entered, carefully looking around.
"Hello?" she asked the empty flat — an answer never came.
Mumbling unhappily under her nose, she quickly rounded the rooms to check for a possible corpse. To some degree she was happy that his body was nowhere to be found, though at the same time, she was a little disappointed by that fact. It would have been nice — it would have solved her current problem. The next second she thought about it, she realised how meaningless and egotistical that wish was.
She halted in the middle of the tiny living room, placing her hands on her hip. "Where would he even go?" she whispered, exasperated.
The apartment was а really small one but right about now, she doubted everything — her observation skills included. Her heart was mercilessly hammering inside her chest both with irrational fear and dreadful anticipation. Tenten tried to convince herself that she was still feeling dizzy from Lee's run with her on his back. It was a lie, and she knew it. She made the round a second time, not so much to be sure he wasn't there, but because she needed the movement. Only then she noticed his backpack beside her bed. She felt instant anger and an overwhelming desire to throw it out of her space. When she reached to grab it, the anger suddenly turned into unhealthy curiosity. She stood there, hovering over the dusty black backpack, but couldn't force herself to invade his personal space.
Shortly after, Tenten went to the bathroom, and was a bit shocked to discover his things neatly stacked on two of her empty shelves. She couldn't help but get angry yet again over his frivolity. That was her flat, in which she had invested so much! And he just came along and took a piece of it for free! That was not something she could tolerate, no! But… Tenten knew very well the way she was thinking was basically wrong — Kankuro was led here by Shizune, he didn't come here on his own. And she had agreed to it, nonetheless. He needed a place to live, his own space. She might not genuinely like it, but she had to share her flat, her general belongings, her food, and her space with him. That was required of her as part of the mission. She took one more look at the bottles and the boxes, while rubbing her chin. Well, it could have been worse, she calmed herself.
Tenten reached in, took one of the boxes, and opened it. "Make-up?!" she exclaimed. The rest contained mainly inks, paints and things alike. She recalled his image of the last time she got a glimpse of him — his face had markings. Well, if that was some part of his shinobi gear, she would have to go along with it.
She turned back to the bedroom, her eyes fell on the only bed. Oh, no, he is absolutely not sleeping in my bed, she frowned. The couch was good enough for the time being. That was something he would have to go along with.
Suddenly it came to her mind that she could actually use his absence to her advantage, as she rushed to bathe herself while still alone. In fact, that was one of the shortest showers she had ever had in her entire career as kunoichi. When she was ready, she put on a cream coloured sleeveless top and clean dark blue jeans. Taking a deep breath, Tenten sat on the bed, crossed legged. She returned the pillow to its place. Then tied her hair in the usual two buns style while looking at herself in the little portable mirror.
Usually, after taking a shower, she would go out to have dinner with the boys or any other of her friends. Despite that fact, she was not hungry at all right now. Even thinking of food made her sick. Besides, she couldn't be so irresponsible and drop everything just to go out and eat, could she?
Tenten sat on the bed for some more time, position changed, so she could tap her heels on the floor. She couldn't just keep sitting and waiting like that. So, she got up and started pacing around the flat, checking that there wasn't anything to clean up. She needed a dirty spot, but found nothing. Tenten had spent a considerable amount of time cleaning after training the last few days. It was cleaner than necessary. That was her way to take her mind away, to meditate, to relax her stressed self, so she could more easily accept the absurd task Godaime entrusted her with. And living together with this sand shinobi, Kankuro, wasn't even the bad part. She was a relatively easy-going person, and she was certain there would be no issue in finding common grounds with another person, as long as he was sane. The icing on the cake was they had to deceive everyone that they were in love and getting engaged. Or well, maybe not in love, really, but calm and comfortable enough. Yes, they had to lie to everyone about this, excluding Godaime, Shizune and a few others that knew what was really going on. And Gai-sensei, her teacher, he was not allowed to know. Lying to him would be the hardest thing, as he had known her well since childhood, and could often sense when something was bothering her. That was why Neji knew, right…? Anyway, for Gai-sensei's sake, she would have to pretend to be in love. Her almost-father wouldn't accept just any reason for her engagement. She just knew he wouldn't. His vision for a romantic relationship was painfully idealistic, even though he was well aware of their reality. And, just maybe, that was the main reason she was feeling so much pressure about the mission. Honestly, she didn't care what anyone else but Gai would think, because he truly cared about her.
"Damn it!" she said quietly, and flinched hearing her own voice. She rarely cursed aloud. She was an even match for the boys at almost everything except cursing. Since she got this mission, "damn it" started to sneak into her speech alarmingly often.
Tenten sighed and decided she could use the time to load the washing machine with her last training clothes, so she looked around to see what else could use a wash. The sheets from the bed were the second to go in, no matter if she changed them the previous day. How dare he sleep in her bed and mangle his body smell in there? She tried to hold her breath while collecting them, but curiosity got the better of her — she breathed in. What filled her nostrils was far from unpleasant, unfortunately. It was as she was trying to find something to hate him for. The bag in her room, the scrolls on her table, the makeup in her bathroom — each of those things she tried to use as fuel for anger and a bit of hate. It didn't work. And now, burying her nose in the sheets, actually made her cheeks tint pink. The smell reminded her of heat, sand, and a hint of hinge lube and wood varnish — it was a strange combination that her body found exciting and simply spine chilling. She was glad no one saw her.
After the machine was loaded, she attempted to close the round door, when she saw some black clothing piled in the bathroom corner.
"What the hell would that be?" Tenten didn't even notice the little curse.
She went to the thing, grabbed it carefully with just her thumb and pointer, then even more carefully picked it up.
"Oh, dear, it stinks!" she exclaimed yet again, wrinkling her nose. The kunoichi didn't even determine what it was, and just threw it to the sheets, before kicking the door. The washing machine really didn't deserve such a treatment, though. She put in washing powder and textile softener, then just pushed the button with a high amount of frustration.
And now what? Where has he gone, this sand shi—, she mentally slapped herself, Kankuro? It came to her mind that she is kind of responsible for his actions while he was here. Officially, he was her boyfriend and in just a few weeks this boyfriend was going to turn into her fiance. Tenten bit in her lower lip, realising she better start finding things to like about him. The more genuine her positive feelings towards him were, the easier it would be to lie.
Ten minutes after she had seated herself on the couch, the young woman frowned. "If he doesn't appear soon, I will have to go look for him," she stated quietly to herself. "But in the meantime…" She smiled widely and decided to do something useful.
Kankuro was walking aimlessly through the streets. No, that was incorrect — he did have a goal, he just had no idea where this goal was located. Actually, that was wrong again — he did have an idea about where this location should be. What he didn't know was his own location compared with the other one. He stopped for a moment and looked around, trying to get a hint from the Universe. The people gave him a wide berth, as he probably looked foreign and kind of hostile to them. But he still had to ask someone or he may waste too much time wandering. He wasn't explicitly told, but he guessed walking around without an escort wasn't really allowed. Eventually one of the local shinobis would notice him, since he wasn't hiding anyway, and depending on who that one would be, a few scenarios were possible. If the shinobi knew about him and his doings, there was a high possibility for him to get help. If not, he would probably end up in the Hokage's office. What about the girl? He didn't give it a thought until now, but he may get her in trouble with those actions of his. That was the moment his guilty conscience made him recalculate, so he decided to go back and wait for her.
His plan didn't work as intended, when a shout forced him to prick his ears up. "Hey, Kankuro!" a cheerful voice came from behind him.
The man turned around to run into a large, white, and definitely dog's head.
"What the f…" he took a step backwards. Then someone placed a hand on his shoulder, making him flinch and look back. "You…?" He frowned, shaking the newcomer's hand off. "Kiba was it, right?"
The Konoha shinobi had brushy brown hair, two red triangles over his cheeks and a really wide smile. That's all one could get from a first impression.
"Oh, you remember me!" he exclaimed.
"Of course I do." Kankuro smiled just so slightly. "I wouldn't forget I saved your ass," he teased him, meaning the time when he killed the twins, who were aiming for Kiba's head.
"We also wouldn't. Right Akamaru?" Kiba turned to the big dog which barked agreeingly. "Akamaru sensed your smell at lunch, but we couldn't look for you then," he explained seriously.
Kankuro didn't really pay him much attention. Instead he was staring at the giant animal.
"Damn it, Kiba! Look at him, you were carrying him in your hands, and on your head!" He remembered the size of the pup and drew them into the air.
The other man laughed. "You know, I am happy to see you here," Kiba changed the topic.
The sand shinobi looked a bit down on him, though he didn't say anything.
"What are you doing here anyway?" he asked in an attempt to chat more informally.
"I have a mission to complete," Kankuro replied shortly.
"Can I get more information about it?" Kiba grinned and leaned closer in than what felt appropriate.
"I am sorry, no."
"Eh, well, no problem," he kept grinning. "I was obliged to try my luck." Kiba scratched his head and added, "Where are you actually going if that is something I may ask?"
"Actually," Kankuro put his hands in his pockets, "I was looking for a place I could have a meal in."
"So you bumped into the right person then!" Kiba exclaimed, a bit overly enthusiastic according to Kankuro's opinion. "I am just about to go eat dinner." He approached some more, causing Kankuro to back off, and whispered "It is just my elder sister's home and her cooking is terrible."
The sand shinobi smiled slightly, thinking that it was indeed true that the sisters' cooking was terrible. They hadn't been living together for a long time now — Gaara, Temari and himself. But there was a moment in their lives when they did share a home, and Temari had really tried cooking then. His stomach clenched painfully at the mere memory of her… attempts. Though that was long ago, they were all just kids back then.
"Thank you," Kankuro said. Maybe he is not that useless after all, he thought.
"Kiba!" shouted someone from the other end of the street, and when they turned to see who it was, he started waving with both hands like a crazy person. Correction — crazy person with an adherent green jumpsuit. Weirdly familiar, though.
"That's Lee. He will be coming with us," Kiba explained as he started to walk towards the other shinobi. Kankuro was graced conveniently with a practical memory about him — he was maybe the very first person to actually lay a hit on Gaara, overcoming his brother's absolute defence. He hadn't remembered his name, but it didn't really matter. In the end, he just followed them tiredly, ignoring most of their talks.
Tenten went to the bathroom and took a bucket with warm water, a few old towels and a special oil for her weapons. She carefully put them down in the middle of the living room. After spreading out an old and quite torn blanket, she thoughtfully arranged all of the weapons she needed cleaned and oiled on it. They weren't much, but nonetheless, she sat on the floor, smiling. Methodically, she started to wash, rub and oil every single metal surface, taking good care of each one, treating them not as tools, but as something that could carry name.
Her teacher, Gai, often repeated that if one wanted to succeed in handling the weapons masterfully, one should take good and regular care of them in the first place. Leaving aside the fact that most of the things he said were weird, hard to understand and mostly stupid; this one rule she remembered well and followed it almost fanatically. It turned out weapon care was something that calmed her and was bringing her quiet joy. So, she was doing that often and thoroughly. Just like she did now.
She moved to the right and bumped into the small table. To get the space she needed, she pushed the furniture aside and something caught her eye — a small piece of paper. She picked it up and turned it: 'I am out, looking for food. K' that was all.
"That was really tasty," Kankuro admitted and leaned back, placing a large hand over his stomach.
"Yes!" Lee exclaimed, irritatingly cheerful, as Kankuro remarked inwardly. The black-haired one raised his fist near his own face, and gazed dreamingly into something only he could see. "It will help me train all night long!"
Kankuro glanced at Lee with confusion and doubt. Ragged pieces of memories flooded his mind — he remembered how Gaara almost killed him during the chuunin's exams some years ago. But Lee got lucky and a lot of teachers meddled to help him out. There was something truly fascinating about this weird shinobi, so atypical. And even if he was purely irritating, he was actually interesting.
He turned to Kiba with raised eyebrows, as if asking him "What's wrong with him? What's with this behaviour?"
"That's just how he is," Kiba shrugged, almost apologising.
"I must go!" Lee got up from his chair.
"Have fun," Kiba waved apathetically with a hand and Akamaru quietly growled.
"Have a nice training session," Kankuro added and closed his eyes for just a second until the black-haired one was moving away.
Then he looked up in the distance while getting up slowly, "I should go too. I kind of need a good night's sleep." He staggered slightly, but returned his balance right away.
"I understand," the other one nodded. "You do look like a ragged doll." Kibba winked. "Got that? 'Ragged doll'?" His joke attempt was deliberately ignored. Kankuro didn't find it funny, not even a little bit. Seeing his humour was underestimated, the leaf shinobi sighed, dismissively waving with both hands. "Alright, alright, I am not taking this personally."
Kankuro gave him a short glare and shook his head.
"Would you be alright on your way back? Would you like Akamaru and I to accompany you?"
"I would…" He was thinking to say he will be 'just fine', but then he realised he couldn't remember how they got here. He could only remember how he got to the place he met Kiba. It had been a long time since he walked around those streets. He hated to depend on anyone, but he also understood the possibility of wandering around until late night hours. Although he didn't really have orientation issues, right now it was different. When they found Temari, he was already tired, coming back from a mission. Then the worries came, the emotional exhaustion during the expectancy; then the travelling to his current location and this…whole mission, which was lacking hard parameters as he was still lacking a great amount of information. He sighed. "Yes, it would be wise if you'd come with me."
Kiba smiled almost softly this time.
"Right, where do you have to go?" He asked.
"I have to find a small park near the east edge of the village." Kankuro explained tiredly.
"Can you give me some more details?" Kiba frowned.
"I would recognise it when I see it."
"Alright, alright. We should follow our trained noses then." He shrugged and started to mumble, "Let's see, a small park, east edge of the village. If I take into consideration where I found you, let's try this way."
"Actually, if you lead me to the place you first found me, I will be fine."
Kiba nodded slowly and tilted his head, "This way."
Gaara sat down on the edge of the bed. He hesitated before carefully taking the unconscious girl's hand, and sighed. He watched her sickly pale face, still covered with fading purple bruises.
"I've heard some people in coma can hear when someone talks to them. That's why, Temari, like it or not, I am going to talk to you every single day," he said emphatically, though his voice sounded surprisingly soft.
The young woman continued to breathe as even and lightly as she did just moments ago, showing no signs that she heard a thing.
"It's weird," said Gaara quietly, "It is so weird how a person can evaluate something when one stops receiving it, right?" He kept silent for a bit. "I must confess I really hated your yelling at Kankuro and myself in the mornings. Do you remember when we used to live together? When we used to go to the bathroom after each other and you were enraged?" He went silent yet again. "I know it was long ago. But it is so quiet at home now that I don't want to go there at all. I expect to hear 'Come on, boys! Hurry up!'. Instead, there is nasty, choking silence…" He stroked her hand awkwardly. "I know we are grown up and we do have…" His voice trailed off uncertainty and he held his breath. Then, he tried again, "I know we do need to have different, separate lives. But I still miss you. Both of you." Gaara stared out of the window for a few minutes, his mind far away in the past.
"Temari, even if we don't live in the old house anymore, I really would like to hear you yell at us," he whispered and massaged his temples with his free hand. There were both a familiar and unfamiliar feeling settled deep inside his chest. It was unpleasant, and heavy, and suffocating, and he wanted it gone. It was similar to that pain he felt in his heart when he was little and had that conversation with his beloved aunt. Was it sadness? Or was it love? Or maybe it was a mix of both and some more? Gaara squeezed his eyes shut for a brief moment, then got up and left the room. It was time to go back to work.
"Are you sure you will be fine from here on?" Kiba asked, genuinely concerned.
"Of course, I am sure. Thank you very much," Kankuro replied, his voice dripping with exasperation.
"Don't be mean, pal, I just helped you…" he said grumpily.
Kankuro took a deep breath and bowed slightly. "You are right. I'm sorry. I do appreciate your help."
"And my company."
"Don't push it," warned the sand shinobi.
"But, can I…" Kiba's voice trailed off, as if he wasn't sure it was a good idea to pry.
"Can you what?"
"Ask you something?" he grinned.
"You can ask me whatever you want. I do not feel obliged to answer any of it."
Kiba laughed and decided he would just blurt it out, "I sensed Tenten's smell all over you. I was just wondering, are you here to see her by any chance?" His eyes were sparkling with curiosity.
Kankuro thought about it for a second. He was never the type to brag or "kiss and tell", so even in that unstarted imaginary relationship, he was going to be careful and treat the whole situation with respect. "Even if I were, what does that have to do with you, I wonder?" He tried to be calm, instead of snappy.
"Maybe I have a personal interest?" Kiba raised his eyebrows.
"Do you?" The sand shinobi tilted his head.
"Maybe." Kiba smiled somewhat mischievous.
"I am afraid you may have missed your chance." Kankuro was absolutely sure the Hokage wouldn't pick a kunoichi in a relationship or in a dating process. So, Kiba probably just wanted to provoke him, was all. "Good night, Kiba."
"Have a nice evening, pal." He lightly patted the Puppet-Master on the shoulder and chuckled.
"Thank you," he replied. "But, please, remember to never ever touch me again!" Kankuro hissed, causing the other young man to flinch.
Kiba vividly remembered the way the sand sibling finished off his opponents. He shivered and stepped back, raising his hands defensively. "Ok, I apologise! Don't get mad."
"It's alright." He rubbed his forehead with closed eyes. "I just need some more rest."
The leaf shinobi was about to automatically tease him, but changed his mind, and settled for a simple "Goodnight."
Kankuro nodded and watched a bit after the man and the dog until they disappeared around a building. When he felt sure the other shinobi couldn't see him, he turned around and headed right back to the flat. Soon enough he was in front of the entrance door. His feet didn't need much commanding from his brain to climb up. While doing so, he couldn't help but think about the meeting, which was inevitably going to happen in a few minutes. What should he tell her? Should he just wait for her to speak first? He stopped hesitantly in front of the flat's door. Kankuro wasn't the hesitant type in general, so to say this behaviour was not typical for the Suna prince, was an understatement. He sucked in a deep breath, finally reaching in his pocket for the key that he got from Shizune earlier. Pulling himself together, he put the little metal tool into the lock and turned it, producing a quiet click. When he pushed the door open, he stopped right in his tracks. Damn it!, he cursed under his breath as three shurikens flew towards him. His reflexes, fortunately, were still relatively intact, because his body moved on its own accord.
In conclusion, he had a well scratched left arm…
Thankies ^^ to all of the involved.
