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Chapter 7: Difference

Neji and Tenten's comrades had picked one of the two tables in front of the restaurant. It was a long wooden one with two benches on both sides. Naruto and Lee occupied the bench that was facing the newcomers; Kiba was seated with his back to them, presumably leaving a spot for Hinata, but he moved next to Naruto when he saw more people were coming their way.

Hinata thanked her teammate quietly and sat down on the free bench, her pale eyes granting each young man opposite her with a glance and a smile.

Tenten's gaze was instantly drawn to a pair of intense blue eyes pointing right at her and Kankuro's locked hands. They were behind Neji's back, and she knew that Naruto couldn't possibly see, but the mere direction of his look resulted in escalating Tenten's anxiety and pulling her hand away instantly.

Naruto narrowed his brow but stood quiet.

Kankuro withheld the urge to shake his head and smirk, nor did he let himself comment or even take a look. He successfully acted as if Tenten had reacted normally, which, in fact, she did according to the circumstances.

The moment Neji 'forced' them to touch, Kankuro knew it was not a good idea — it was rushed. Taut physical contact was never a good idea, though he would've made it worse if he started to discuss it in front of the others. What he could do, anyway, was show empathy — if she dared to look him in the face, that was.

Kankuro halted a step aside and was welcomed warmly by Akamaru, who tried to lick his face.

"No, down!" He used a firm voice, trying to make the dog go away.

"Akamaru! Leave him alone!" Kiba yelled. "Hey, Kankuro. Glad to see you again," he grinned.

"Again?" Tenten repeated, her embarrassment forgotten. She actually turned her hazel eyes toward him.

The sand shinobi didn't mention his run in with Kiba the previous day. He didn't think it was that important at the time, and they clearly didn't have the time to chat about that. Also, he was so deadly tired that the whole meeting with Kiba and the dinner remained a blur in his memories.

"Yes. He saw me wandering around yesterday, and was so nice as to take me to the centre for a meal."

"Oh…" Tenten narrowed her eyes. Kankuro could easily read what was behind that seemingly surprised "oh", though. "You didn't mention it." She tried to keep calm, she really did, but there was a strained undertone in her voice. The smile she tried to place on her face looked forced in the first moment before she fixed it to look more natural.

"I forgot to add that to my story." Whatever else he'd said now, it would've sounded weird, so he went for partial honesty about not remembering to mention Kiba.

Catching the dead-end situation she put them in, Tenten didn't have much of a choice about her next reaction. She had to masterfully belittle the whole thing and make it forgettable. She settled for a nonchalant shrug. The realisation that her inquiry had caused much more damage than if she had pretended not to care and asked him later on during the dinner hit her far too late. She couldn't possibly take her "oh" back now, could she? Distraction was in order — she breathed in deeply and grabbed Kankuro's hand. Her wrist was shaking and her fingers trembled; she needed reassurance, and she got it right away as the sand shinobi squeezed back; his warmth and calm transferred into her body.

Hinata had turned in her spot and was looking at them intrigued, her cheeks covered with just a tint of pink. Kiba grinned and nudged Naruto in the ribs, while Lee blinked incomprehensibly.

"It will be alright," Kankuro whispered so quietly that she thought the words appeared directly in her head.

"Hey!" Naruto said loudly, his eyes focused on their hands. "Why the hell are you touching him?!" The question made all of the others look in the same direction. Except for Neji, who headed towards the table and sat beside his cousin, his back to the couple in question.

Hinata gave him a curious look, to which he shrugged.

"Did you know?" She whispered.

"I did," was his short answer.

"Why won't anyone answer me dammit?" Naruto insisted, raising his voice.

"Let it rest for now, will you?" Neji snapped, and the blond man was surprised enough to frown and prop his chin on his arm. However, his blue eyes shifted from Tenten to Kankuro to Neji with suspicion.

Hinata turned her pale eyes, just like Neji's, to look over her shoulder at her friend. Tenten smiled apologetically and took a step toward her.

Kankuro released her hand gently. Her initiating a hand-holding was showy enough to draw the right type of attention, and he could return her space. He brushed ahead and picked the spot opposite Lee, leaving space between himself and Hinata so Tenten could occupy it when she was ready. Lee's unblinking gaze was unnerving, but he ignored it, smiling briefly instead.

"I am sorry, Hinata," Tenten pleaded, placing her forehead on her friend's shoulder. "This was supposed to be a secret until now. No one should've known."

"Neji knew," Hinata pointed out, partly puzzled.

Tenten lifted her head and looked straight into Hinata's eyes, explaining, "He is my teammate, and... I needed his assistance occasionally." Her voice trailed off as she glanced at Neji's face. "I didn't have a choice but to tell him the truth."

Neji nodded.

Hinata sighed and shifted so she could wrap her arms around Tenten's body. She couldn't possibly be mad at her; she wasn't the type to hold grudges. If her friend didn't tell her something, then she really didn't have the right to do so. The fact that her cousin knew was still unsettling, but she was sure Tenten would give her the needed information and explanation... later on and in private.

"It's ok," Hinata said and stroked her back. "I guess you really had to keep whatever this is to yourself."

Kankuro ignored all of this heartwarming hugging, just as he ignored the tense and almost hostile looks shot his way. He chose to read the menu. When he decided on what he wanted, he pushed the laminated pages in front of the seat Tenten was supposed to sit in. Only then did he lift his head to look at the three young men on the other side of the table. Naruto, Kiba, and Lee had their eyes bored into him. Each gaze held a different message, though all of them made the hair on his neck stand on end.

"What's the deal here?" Naruto asked straight on, his face twisting into a deep frown.

Kankuro didn't have the chance to talk with him much, but he harboured deep respect for the blond man from the moment he rushed ahead to help his little brother, Gaara. Naruto and Kankuro took turns carrying Gaara back to safety with no complaints and extreme attention and care. The sand shinobi didn't believe Naruto was as ignorant as Neji would have him believe.

"What does it look like?" Kankuro returned the question calmly.

"Do you, by any chance, have any personal romantic interest in our Youthful Flower Tenten?" Lee inquired, his eyes enormously big and round. His voice wavered and pitched unpleasantly.

Kankuro let out a huff. "Youthful flower?" He raised an eyebrow and sought explanation in Tenten's direction. Since she was still busy talking with Hinata, his sight moved to Neji.

The young Hyuuga shook his head. "It's her pet name. Lee and our sensei use it," he explained.

"You don't use it?" Kankuro teased, and a grin appeared on his lips inside the thick, painted purple line.

"God, no!" Tenten interjected, turning her head towards him. "Gai-sensei and Lee are enough!"

Kankuro chuckled and stored that "pet name" in his mind for later usage. His face turned serious when he responded to Lee, confirming, "I do have a serious personal interest in Tenten, yes."

"How?" Naruto asked. "Haven't seen your ass around for years."

There… Her friends' noses had already started to dig into their supposed personal common love story. Tenten sighed and straightened her back, getting herself ready. She looked at Kankuro, silently seeking his support. And he was there, just as he promised he would be.

"I feel kind of worried by the fact you looked only at my ass." Kankuro smirked at Naruto. "I know it's a nice view, but really...! There are certainly more pleasant butts around that are worth gazing at, don't you think?"

Naruto's cheeks reddened, and Tenten laughed heartily.

"Seriously, Kankuro-san, Tenten is a precious friend and teammate of Neji and myself. We really care for her well-being and will oppose anyone who has the intention of hurting her tender heart. I insist on knowing what your intentions towards her are!" Lee's voice was gravely serious; his palms lay on the table, and he seemed ready to jump, aiming for a kill or at least serious body harm.

"Relax, Lee," Tenten warned, sitting down on the bench as close to Kankuro as she could let herself.

"Lee, Kankuro and Tenten had been together for years," Neji interjected. He could see an explanation was needed right at the moment — overemotional Lee required to be provided with summarised information as fast as possible.

"What do you mean for years!?" Lee's hands started to shake, and his voice became louder.

"We've been dating for two years," Tenten confirmed, looking straight into his round eyes. "Do you remember my runaway vacations and how I always refused your company?" Heavy silence fell over the table, and even the waiter turned around to give them a few more moments before taking their orders.

"Naaah, you are joking!" stated Naruto, and waved dismissively. "Dating Tenten? Bullshit!"

Kankuro opened his mouth to reason with him, but Tenten nudged him in the arm. "Just leave it," she mouthed.

He frowned, preparing to argue, but her pleading eyes forced him to nod instead — she knew her comrades way better, after all.

"Really, Gaara's bro dating the most tomboyish girl in Konoha just seems absurd," he mumbled quietly enough that only Kiba could pick up on his words.

"What was that?" Tenten inquired.

"Nothing." Naruto waved his hand. "It's just… Let's say it's a bit weird."

Naruto was sometimes frighteningly perceptive and thoughtful. Sensing the rage bubbling into Tenten's chest, he decided on changing the topic. He turned his wide grin towards Neji: "Hey, Neji… You never come to dinner with us," he started, gaining a pissed-off glare from the pale-eyed man. "I'm glad you're here. I think it's nice to see your face every now and then. I can happily remember the good ol' times when I kicked your ass on that chuunin exam." His smile became even wider.

"Yes," Neji calmly agreed. "But even so, you didn't become a chuunin then, did you?" Neji was aware such a comment would rile up the blond shinobi. He used the occasion to straighten out the distraction and fully redirect the attention away from Tenten and Kankuro. Also, he felt somewhat irritated in general, so pouring out some of the accumulated exasperation on Naruto seemed like a nice way to calm down. The chuunin exams were on the same list as the 'Sasuke' and were making his blood boil.

"Argh!" Naruto shouted. "It is not fair, Neji! You also didn't become chuunin then!"

"Yes, but I did get promoted on the next exam."

Hinata gave an eyebrow-raised look to her cousin, then exchanged glances with Tenten.

"I wasn't even here when the next exams were held!"

"I don't see how that's my problem." Neji replied, tangling his fingers together on the table.

Naruto railed against that for some time, though the rest of the group succeeded in calming him down. And when his ramen came to the table, everything was forgotten.

"Tenten, are you all right now?" Lee asked suddenly.

She lifted her eyes to look at him. She tried to guess what he meant when Neji's polite throat clearing and whispered "training off" helped her get on track. It was about her early leave from the training grounds. She didn't return, so Lee was probably concerned. He tended to overreact, but his heart was pure, and she knew his worry for her was as real as it could be.

Tenten smiled softly. "Yes, Lee, thank you. I feel much better now."

"I'm glad," he nodded, the relief visible all over his expressive face. "Gai-sensei and I got worried. It's very atypical for you to have "female" pains."

Kankuro's hand stopped half-way between his plate and his mouth; he frowned. Menstruation and the cramps related to it weren't something normally discussed over dinner, lunch, or any meal, for that matter. Are they so close? He couldn't even finish his thought as Tenten's arm shot over the table. The next thing he saw was Lee flying backward and landing on his back a few feet away. The sand shinobi relaxed his hand beside his plate and looked over the faces around him: Hinata's whole face, neck, and ears had reddened; Neji had hidden his face behind his palm; Naruto's cheeks were also blooming red with obvious embarrassment; and Tenten was also red, mostly from anger, according to her body posture and exasperating panting. The only face, excluding his own, that had stayed calm, surprisingly, was the one of Kiba.

"Tenten, no need to get so riled up," Kiba intervened. "It is not such a big deal, you know."

"People are eating, idiot!" She shouted at the fallen boy.

She isn't joking, all right, Kankuro thought, amused. A familiar pain tugged inside his chest as he compared this unrestrained outburst with the ones Temari had poured over him through the years. His whole presence somehow shifted to gloom. No one noticed, except for Neji, but he was here in order to notice things…

Hinata coughed politely and changed the topic swiftly. "Kankuro-san, what brings you to Konoha?" she asked. Her voice was quiet, but somehow it drew everyone's attention.

"I'm here on a mission, Hinata-sama," he answered smoothly, smiling. "And since I'm here anyway, there's no better time to attend to one more thing that I want to... do." His intentional pause and slightly sly smile, combined with a brief glance at Tenten, caused yet another round of blushes, wolf-whistling, and laughter.

"Don't be a child, please!" Tenten protested, but the distinguished red over her cheeks spoke of an immense embarrassment. Kankuro decided that this type of discomfort looked cute on her.

"I'm a man; we are all children, just in bigger bodies," he stated without wavering.

Kiba and Naruto nodded enthusiastically, and even Lee joined in with a vocal agreement.

Tenten glanced at Neji, who had stayed passive through that last comment. She couldn't help but compare his serious facial expression and mature demeanour to the rest. Neji was everything but childish… and she liked that very much, she realised.

The rest of the dinner passed in light conversations, which Kankuro made sure to keep that way. Every time a deeper topic threatened to take place, he succeeded in shifting the focus with a joke.

Tenten was looking at him closely, noticing what he was doing. Kankuro's speech was smooth, and he obviously didn't mind talking, taking the weight of the conversation on his shoulders — something Neji was never prone to doing. This, Tenten thought, was one more major difference between her teammate and the sand shinobi.

When the dinner was over, the shinobi sat some more, chatting.

Hinata seemed to relax and kind of accept Kankuro's presence. Lee, on the other hand, couldn't hide his suspicion, though he didn't ask anything more. Anyway, Tenten knew that her usually cheerful teammate was going to corner her the first chance he got and demand an explanation. Well, she had time until tomorrow morning to think about what exactly to tell him.

Naruto laughed a lot, joining Kankuro more often than not, and eventually got up on his feet to wish them all a good night as he had to leave for a mission sometime in the very early morning. Hinata made him promise he would be careful and return in one piece.

Kankuro was amazed by the clueless behaviour of the blond man towards Hinata's obviously warm feelings. He glanced at Tenten for help about what his reaction should be on the matter, but all he got was helpless head-shaking and a shrug.

"Come on, Hinata-sama, let's head home." Neji sighed and got up as well. She nodded timidly.

Before she followed him, Hinata hugged Tenten. "We'll talk, right?" she asked quietly.

"We will, I promise."

Hinata flashed a radiant smile her way, then jogged to catch up with Neji on the way to the Hyuuga compound.

Kiba's eyes flickered curiously when he glanced at Tenten and Kankuro. His nose wrinkled, and he grinned knowingly.

Tenten raised an eyebrow, noting to ask later what that was about.

"I shall see you tomorrow morning, Youthful Flower," Lee turned to Tenten. Then he turned to Kankuro and bowed, his voice as polite as ever. "It was nice seeing you, Kankuro-san. Please offer my best wishes to Gaara when you safely reach Sunagakure in the next few days."

"I'll make sure to do that," he replied with a calm smile, not bothering to correct Lee about his stay length.

"Yeah, sure you will," Kiba snickered and tugged at Lee's sleeve. "Come on." He looked over his shoulder at Tenten's puzzled expression. "Goodnight, you two. Make sure to have a good time." His grin was almost scary.

When Kiba and Lee were out of earshot, Tenten spoke up, "What was all of that?"

Kankuro headed down the street, and she followed. "What do you mean?"

"Kiba and you." He raised his eyebrows and shoved his hands in his pockets. "All that grinnin' and stuff. Please, elaborate," she insisted.

"When I was out yesterday, without you, to look for food," he started with a sigh. "I met Kiba. I joined him, Naruto, and Lee for a meal."

"And?"

"Nothing really. We chatted; I didn't tell them anything. Then Kiba offered to accompany me to the place I am staying."

"And you brought him right to my door, didn't you?" Anger flickered in her hazel eyes.

"Of course not." There was audible distaste in his voice. "I was deadly exhausted, woman, but I hadn't lost my mind." Kankuro frowned. "Anyway, I made him drop me off at the place he found me. Then he asked why I smelled like… well, you."

"He did not!" She exclaimed, mouth agape.

"Oh, he did." Kankuro smirked.

"Not possible." She shook her head confidently.

"He also hinted that he may have a personal interest in you."

"He doesn't have any interest in me."

"At least not to your knowledge," he added matter-of-factly.

"Wha—" Tenten shut her mouth and looked angrily at him. "No! He doesn't," she stressed.

Kankuro shrugged, amused. "Anyway, I told him off." Tenten halted and gave him an amazed look. He shot a crooked smile at her, adding, "Don't look at me like that. If you were my girlfriend, he would've been under serious beating for even thinking of making any advances your way. I'm not the jealous type, but I wouldn't stand by passively when other men ogle my woman."

Tenten opened her mouth to oppose him, telling him she was not his woman, but changed her mind about speaking — technically, she was. For the duration of this mission, she was in fact his girlfriend, who was about to become his wife, and thus his woman.

"So he can actually smell me on you, that is?" she asked instead. "How can that be? We didn't really... We haven't been physically close enough."

"Actually, it makes sense," Kankuro mused.

"How come?"

"I slept in your bed, wrapped in your sheets, on your pillow. I can imagine I had absorbed your smell into my skin." He shot her a glance.

"But I didn't. I shouldn't smell like you," Tenten countered as she halted and took a few deep breaths. But yes, he had slept in her bed, and he was not going to do that again.

"Well, look at the bright side — at least he believes that we are together," Kankuro concluded.

Tenten humphed and nodded thoughtfully, starting to walk again.

"Now what?" he asked.

"I don't feel like walking around," she admitted. "Do you want to go home?"

Home, he repeated inwardly, and looked up at the darkening sky. The blue here was different; the skyline felt foreign. It didn't feel like home at all. Suna, his home, was away; Kankuro wasn't going to see its orange sunsets for some time. He already missed even the heat, which he often complained about. It wasn't her fault, any of it.

He felt her concerned gaze weighing on him. His dark eyes shifted to her hazel ones, and he graced her with a warm smile.

"Sure. Let's go home."

Then he let her lead the way.


Kankuro succeeded to relax while he walked beside Tenten. She, on the other hand, was too tense, unwillingly keeping a big space gap between them; it was larger than even normal friends should have. He tried to get close a few times, but she stepped aside and remained far from his physical self.

"Tenten," the man said quietly, drawing her attention, "would you consider slightly decreasing the distance between us?" he asked. "Is it so hard to let yourself be close to me?"

She sighed and glanced at him, admitting, "It's more difficult than I thought."

He suddenly felt sorry for her. Kankuro suspected her greatest issue was that she harboured deep feelings for her teammate; they were probably so deeply buried that she was most likely unaware she had them. He could see her inner resistance to the situation. However, he couldn't let her blow up the whole thing, even if she were in love with another man. The cost was too high, and he was not ready to pay it.

"Yo," said a voice seemingly from nowhere. Right after it, Kakashi materialised right between them.

"Kakashi?" Kankuro narrowed his eyes as he turned his head toward the other man.

"Tsunade-sama summons you tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. sharp," he said in a bored voice.

"She summons me?" Tenten began, "Neji didn't—"

The older man interrupted her: "Kankuro. He's the one being summoned."

"Right," she said, exhaling the air she hadn't realised she'd been holding.

"Thank you," Kankuro said.

"You're welcome." Kakashi smiled, and the skin around his visible eye wrinkled. He placed a heavy hand over the younger man's shoulder. "Lead well," was all he said before disappearing into a little white cloud with a distinctive puff.

"What did he mean by that?"

"It was something we spoke about earlier." Kankuro replied, and Tenten realised he wasn't going to give her anything more.

When a few minutes had passed, he sighed. "You don't have to like me or love me for this to work," he whispered. To be able to hear him, Tenten stepped closer. "We need to pretend, to play roles. If you can't handle being close to me, just imagine someone else in my place — someone that you like enough."

"There is no one I could replace you with in my imagination," she said coolly.

You are lying, he smiled inwardly. Tenten kept herself still and didn't crack a bit. So you can pretend, after all.

"Good," he said. "Then try to consider me a boyfriend then. I am not going to step over your boundaries when you set them up, I promise. But you have to try." Kankuro looked at her. "Remember, it's all because of my sister, because of Temari. I'm not playing twisted games for my own amusement."

Tenten bit her bottom lip, feeling both helpless and guilty. Suppressing the warning tingling over her skin, she boldly stepped closer to Kankuro. He nodded at her and headed forward to her flat… their flat, technically.

This time the silence that fell upon them was more comfortable

She was grateful that he didn't speak.

He on the other hand was following her pace, looking around in the shop's tall windows. Occasionally, his head lifted up as his eyes wandered to the darkening sky.

Tenten took a deep breath and let it out slowly through her nose. Her eyes drifted to Kankuro, and she tried hard to think of something she liked about him. He had the body, but again, all of her male friends had beautifully sculptured bodies. Her mind wandered back to her teammates, and eventually Neji's image settled in. She couldn't help but start to compare her once-upon-a-time crush to her new mission partner. Kankuro's hair wasn't long, soft, or satiny, but looked more wild, like a horse's mane. His eyes weren't especially big and expressive, nor were his facial features delicate and beautifully carved, even if they were kind of aristocratic.

Cold shivers ran down her spine as she started to wrap her mind around the nature of her thoughts. She was praising Neji's appearance just like she did when her crush was at its peak. A fearful sensation creeped into her heart.

This can't be. I was supposed to be over this already! It's not true, it just can't be! Especially not now…

Was it possible that her resumed feelings were just a reflection of Neji's nice behaviour earlier? But he was rarely rude, if she had to be honest. He used to be snappy, bad-tempered, and cold when they started on the same team; he was an arrogant and fate-obsessed preteen. He had grown since then. They've all grown, and they've all changed for the better. Neji's behaviour softened; his coldness and roughness were no longer something his teammates and family had to fight with at all. But sometimes he would still raise his voice and give a sharper answer to a comrade, even if it was sporadic.

In general, Neji was careful and concerned about the missions he was responsible for and the people who were involved in those missions, and deviations from his strict demeanour weren't something he easily let surface. Usually, he'd have a good reason. She knew that. And still, it felt like something more... Tenten shook her head in disbelief. It was bad for her emotional health to think there was something more, because there surely wasn't. He was helping her because he was her friend, her best friend, even, and he was assigned to assist her.

Tenten shot another glance at Kankuro, who wasn't paying her any attention at the moment.

No matter the reason for her inner outburst, she was certain about one thing — Kankuro was nothing like Neji, not like him at all.


Thnak you, mfw_no_gf ❤️