Update: Thankfully, my beta is back, and thanks to her, this chapter is posted today.

Kakashi shows up again, and Shikamaru starts to snoop around, sensing something fishy. An uncomfortable conversation awaits the poor Tenten, but she'll have to handle it like the big girl she is.

I'll be really happy if you let me know what you think and if you like the changes. Also, if you post a comment, don't forget to check your mail for an answer.


Chapter 8: Additional Tasks

Kankuro woke up in the middle of the night; his throat was burning with thirst. His body felt heavy and loose, and he didn't really want to get up, but he still did and headed towards the kitchen, dragging his feet.

Faint noise made him stop in his tracks. He stopped and listened, holding his breath so he could hear better.

He didn't believe his ears at first. Instead, he followed the quiet sound — it was coming from the bedroom, without a doubt. While approaching the door, Kankuro couldn't help but frown: It sounds like... Is she...?

And yes, Tenten was crying — well, more sobbing than actually crying out loud. In the quiet night, the sound was relatively easy to catch if one was snooping around, just as it was easy to miss if one was minding their own business.

Everything started when she went to bed. She was feeling fine when she pulled the blanket over her body, and relaxed on the pillow. She was calm as her eyes closed and she let her mind drift away. That was when the real problem appeared. Her mind wandered in various directions at first, until it went to the one person she feared to think about.

That was the worst possible moment for her feelings to return. They didn't slowly float to the surface, but possessed her as if with a simple click of fingers.

Tenten felt so helpless, hopeless, and unhappy that she could barely keep the tears from falling. The sensation that held her firmly in its iron grip was that she was drowning and couldn't get her head above the surface.

It was a feeling of despair.

All of…it should've been over years ago. It was over! And then…it wasn't.

Now, it was clear that she had been suppressing those sensations… those feelings in order to simply survive and become the best version of herself. She strove to be better while he was still around. A tiny hope had been hibernating in the back of her mind: that if she were the best version of herself, he might take an interest in her. Well, in the end, he didn't. He wouldn't have…

Exhausted, Tenten succeeded in falling asleep. Eventually, her dreams were haunted by nightmares she couldn't wake up from. So she sat up in her bed, shattered, shivering, still half-dreaming, and incapable of pulling herself together. She wasn't in possession of her reactions — her chest was shaking with sobs, and she even didn't realise it.

Kankuro stood in front of the bedroom door for at least ten minutes, but didn't dare to knock. He felt as if he wasn't supposed to be hearing this — that by entering, he'd be attempting to break into a sanctuary that was never supposed to be seen by him. His strong common sense told him his presence wasn't wanted, and he decided to trust it.

And anyway, even if he entered the room, what would he do or say? It'd be stupid of him to try comforting someone without knowing if that person wanted to be comforted in the first place. Not that he was really experienced on the matter — rarely had anyone been in need of his comfort in particular, and even more rarely had he needed comforting. Even when he did, he always succeeded in pulling himself together, lifting his chin and laughing it off, inwardly suffering. He was a resilient shinobi, a true son of the tough Suna desert — he handled his problems and emotions on his own.

He sighed and shook his head as he stepped away from the door. The fact she was crying was unsettling, but it wasn't his business to stick his nose in, nor was it his responsibility to baby a grown woman. A normal kunoichi should be more than capable of managing her emotions. She wasn't a child.

The sand shinobi balled his hands into fists, turned, and headed back to the couch. When he sat down, his sight drifted to the bedroom door.

His refusal to get involved couldn't stop him from wondering what would make her cry in the middle of the night. Was it possible to be related to him and the mission? Of course, it was possible.

Could the reason be something else? Yes, it could be anything, really…

There was even a chance that her pale-eyed teammate was somehow involved. Kanuro's jaw clenched involuntarily. He suddenly felt anger rolling inside his chest — if that was the case, he wasn't going to be empathetic to either of them. In the end, that would only mean a higher risk to his sister's life. He didn't care in the slightest about a romantic relationship between this woman and whoever was the object of her feelings. He didn't have any personal attachment to her. But not now — not if Temari's life was on the line.

Technically, if there was anything going on between Tenten and her teammate, or anyone else for that matter, they should have said it to Tsunade-sama. There was no way that she could be replaced now, not without causing a really bad commotion and mission failure.

No, whatever the reason for her sobs was, she was obligated to get over it. He would help if he saw he could or if he was asked to. But he was in no way letting her step out of the mission.


Tenten never passed through the living room, but Kankuro heard the quiet rustling in the kitchen around sunrise. He didn't bother to get up and check; there was no point.

About half an hour later, he found himself standing in front of the bedroom door, just like last night. He knew the room was empty, but he knocked anyway, as a good roommate would. It was the polite thing to do, after all. Expectedly, there was no answer, and he let himself in.

A little note on the kitchen table informed him that he should visit the Hokage Tower and that an escort would be waiting for him.

When he was ready — dressed, washed, and face painted — he went out on the street. The young man didn't even have a chance to look around before he was greeted by a familiar voice muffled by a cloth mask: "Mornin'."

"Morning, Kakashi," Kankuro replied and looked at the silver-haired jounin, casually leaning on the wall of the building. "Here to escort me?"

"Sure thing." The older man smiled and snapped his book closed, then put it in one of the larger vest pockets.

"You could've come upstairs instead of standing outside, you know."

"Nah, I wanted to catch up with my book. This seemed like a good occasion." Kakashi shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"It must be interesting reading, then?" His tone was polite.

"Depends. Some would say it's hideous. Personally, I find it quite entertaining."

Kankuro's interest was definitely piqued. "What are you reading?"

Kakashi took out the book and, as if with hesitation, handed it to him. The younger man turned it to read the cover title — his eyebrows raised. Kankuro shot Kakashi a glance and flipped the book open on a random page. His sight focused on a random paragraph: "His hands slipped underneath her skirt and lifted the offending material high around her waist," the book informed him. "His lips desperately kissed a path down until he reached the peaks of her…" Halting on a spot, he felt heat creeping over his neck and face as he couldn't help but visualise what he just read. The blush wasn't visible, most likely, but anyway, he couldn't do anything about it. That was an erotic text.

Kankuro closed the book carefully, covering the title with his palm, and returned it. "I see," was all he said.

Kakashi chuckled. "Not your kind of reading material?" he asked with a hint of mockery. The book was placed in the vest pocket while the leaf shinobi resumed walking.

Kankuro swallowed and followed suit. "I would… lie if I said that," he slowly admitted. "But I prefer more… private setting for this kind of literature."

Just like before, the leaf shinobi waved goodbye and left Kankuro to deal with Tsunade on his own.

Tenten took a sharp breath when she saw Kankuro coming her way. She, of course, knew he was coming, and still she felt unsettled.

"Good morning." He gave her a small smile. She was only able to nod. "I didn't expect to see you here," he added in a low voice.

"I was called here. We were already training when I received the summon," she explained, sounding as if she were apologising.

Kankuro sighed while giving her a glance. "You can pass through the living room, you know."

Tenten looked a bit startled. "Yes, I am sorry. I didn't want to wake you so early."

"It's alright to wake me." He kept his eyes on hers. "It really is."

She nodded the same moment Shizune called them in — it was their turn to enter the hokage's office.

"Oh, good morning, you two." Tsunade radiated a smile. "How's the mission going?" she asked, all businesslike.

"We went out for dinner with some of the others yesterday," Tenten stiffly reported.

"And?"

"And nothing," she admitted.

"What do you mean by that?" The older woman frowned.

"If I may?" Kankuro interjected, taking a really small step forward.

She tangled her red-nailed fingers together and set them on the desk. "Go ahead."

"I don't think all of them believed us," Kankuro stated.

"You don't?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes and looked at Tenten. "What do you think?"

Tenten bit the inside of the cheek and slowly spoke up, "Kankuro is right; Naruto didn't believe us for a beat. I don't think Hinata was convinced either, but I'll take care of this later in the week. I'll make sure Sakura and I work together to satisfy her curiosity, so she'll be left with the right kind of impression. Same goes for Ino — she wasn't with us yesterday, but I'm sure Hinata already shared her thoughts about me." She shot a glance at the man, correcting herself, "About us, I mean."

Tsunade nodded and encouraged her to continue with a small hand gesture. "Lee thinks it's all too suspicious and… He asked me some questions today before we started training." She swallowed.

"What questions?" Kankuro inquired, truly interested.

"Well… For example, why haven't I told him or Gai-sensei about my boyfriend, but I've told Neji…"

Tsunade's look didn't waver as she mused with a slight smile, "What did you tell him?"

"That I never intended to tell anyone at all until it eventually became serious. But Neji caught us on one of our dates, and I had to tell him. And also that he swore to keep the secret."

"Sounds alright." The old woman relaxed in her chair. "Something else?"

Tenten didn't answer, but her cheeks bloomed in a pretty pink colour.

"Tenten?"

"I really prefer to keep the rest of the questions to myself. They're too personal," she blurted out.

"Well, you may not tell me, but you should share them with Kankuro somehow. Or at least whatever concerns him." Tsunade pursed her lips.

"I will," she promised.

"I think Kiba believes we are together for real," Kankuro added with a smirk.

"Do you, now?" The hokage raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?"

"He smelled Tenten on me… kind of."

"Oh, not gonna ask." Her eyes went wide for just a second, then she nodded thoughtfully as if she were remembering something.

Tenten shrugged at Kankuro's glance.

"Anyway!" Tsunade grinned happily and turned her head towards the man. "I found a team that could foster you while you're here. One of the main participants is out on specific training and will be absent for a long time. You can take his place in the meantime."

Tenten frowned, trying to remember who was missing. "Oh, you mean Shino's spot?"

"Indeed. Kankuro, you'll be training with Team Kurenai, together with Hyuuga Hinata and Inuzuka Kiba. Of course, you will be training with Team Gai occasionally as well. And while we are on the matter, I think you could do some missions in order to be even more useful."

His expression completely changed. Tenten wouldn't be able to say how exactly because of all the paint, but it did. He narrowed his eyes in disagreement.

"Tsunade-sama, I'm not your subordinate, and I can't possibly carry out missions—" Her too-sweet smile forced him to shut up.

"Are you not, now?" She shrugged nonchalantly and continued, "Let me remind you that you are on Konoha's territory. Currently, you are living here. Also, you took one of my best subordinate kunoichis, and you still dare to protest against my decisions?"

The young man instantly felt small and inexperienced, just like a young boy. He bowed his head and somehow shrank.

"I apologise, Tsunade-sama."

"My village, my rules, Kankuro-sama." He visibly flinched at the use of his official title. Anyway, he still kept his head down. "Do we have an agreement?" She asked sweetly.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama."

"Good." The woman cracked her knuckles. "One more thing," she continued calmly, attracting both Kankuro's and Tenten's gaze. "I spoke with Konoha's organiser of the chuunin exams. He explained the need for collaboration, as there are still a few things left unfinished. Since there's no one else available from Suna's side, obviously, I want you to take care of that instead of your sister." The sand shinobi's eyes widened. "Is there a problem?" She asked, frowning.

"I guess not, Tsunade-sama." He sighed in resignation.

"Good!" She radiated one more wide smile as she placed her palms on the desk. "You can go now. Your temporary team awaits you, so just ask Shizune where exactly you should find them."

He bowed yet another time, muttering, "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"You're dismissed."

Kankuro then turned and took a few steps towards the door. Tenten attempted to follow him when Tsunade's voice made her stop. "Tenten, you stay, please. I need a word with you."

The kunoichi instantly bore her sight into the man's nape. As if he felt the intensity of her look, Kankuro glanced at her over his shoulder. "Would you wait?" could be read in her eyes. He tilted his head slightly towards the hallway in an equally silent answer: "I'll be just outside."

When Kankuro closed the door, Tenten turned to face her hokage, grasping her hands behind her back.

Tsunade spoke softly. "Tenten, I did some more research, and I now realise that this mission is really difficult for you."

"Tsunade-sama?" She breathed out; a question hung in the air, unsaid.

"It would be great if we could just go along and tell everybody why I have to leave." The older woman stared at Tenten with uncharacteristic empathy. "But we can't. There are surely spies from the other villages snooping around. The less of us know the truth, the smaller the chance there is of something going wrong. To deceive the other villages, we have to deceive Konoha first." She waited for a nod. "Your friends need a believable explanation. We owe them that much."

"I understand that, and I'm trying. But simple understanding doesn't make it easier, unfortunately." Tenten couldn't bear her hokage's gaze anymore and let her eyes drop to the floor. "I'll try harder."

"I see that Lee will make a fuss, which, frankly, I've expected. But you know him — both him and Gai, actually. They would fight to death instead of accepting the fact that sometimes good political decisions can be made with some theatre, deceit, lies, and small sacrifices. I think it would be hardest to lie to them."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama. I'll think of a way to prove them my" — she paused uncomfortably —"boyfriend is really that."

"I've had a conversation with Neji and instructed him to help you all the time. You can lean on Kakashi and Sakura as well without any hesitations; they also have the task of lying and deceiving in your favour."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama." Tenten felt some betrayal tears gathering inside her eyes.

The older woman pursed her lips and let out a deep sigh. It looked as if she was getting ready to say something she really dreaded.

"There's really no easy way to talk about that, but I have to." Tenten lifted her head, puzzled. "After I did that research I mentioned earlier, I now possess the knowledge that you've never had a boyfriend. Is that correct?"

"Y… yes, Tsunade-sama."

"I seemed to neglect that, as I really didn't think it was possible for a young woman your age," she said calmly and added right away, "an attractive and capable young woman nonetheless." Tsunade sighed yet again. "Anyway, it is too late to get you out of the mission and swap you for someone else, so you'll have to go along with it," she said, sounding sincerely sorry.

"I'll handle it," Tenten stated right away, feeling the need to reassure her hokage that she'd made a good choice.

"You'll have to," she repeated.

The older woman was silent for a few moments, sizing Tenten up. When she spoke again, her voice was ever so soft. "I have some tips for you. I'm sure your female friends can provide you with something useful as well, but..." Tsunade clicked her tongue. "To create a believable illusion of Kankuro and you as a willing couple, you'll have to let your guard down a bit around him. Affection means the desire to be close, to care, to touch, or to simply be with a certain person. Try to let yourself touch his face and body."

A deep blush started to creep over Tenten's face. She felt extremely uncomfortable.

"I… I'm not sure I can touch him...like that," the kunoichi stummered.

Tsunade got up on her feet, rounded the desk, and stood in front of Tenten. She reached out and touched the younger woman's shoulder.

"Light touches, Tenten. Occasional, light, non-sexual touches. Like that, for example." Tsunade brushed the kunoichi's elbow, then lifted her hand and feather-touched Tenten's cheek as if she removed something from there. Then she tucked a loose lock of brown hair behind Tenten's ear. "Got it?"

Tenten was shivering. "I believe so." The touches were absolutely nothing scary. They were normal affectionate gestures she actually made for her teammates, sensei, and friends. But the fact that Tsunade thought she had to show them felt terrible.

"Let him touch you back, hug you from time to time, hold your hand, maybe kiss you on the cheek. If you feel uncomfortable with any of the physical interactions between you, just talk to him. He seems like a decent young man."

"He does."

"He has much to lose, so I don't think he would push it over your boundaries."

"I hope he won't."

"If he does, you can always send him to me." Tsunade flashed a smile at her. "I'll put some sense into his head in this case." She emphasised her words with knuckle cracking, which made Tenten smile.

"I know all of this is out of your comfort zone. But I am asking you to pretend; I am not asking you to love him, be his real wife, or carry his children, after all."

"I know." Tenten nodded with new determination in her eyes.

"Alright. I count on you. If there's a problem or something you would like an experienced woman to talk with, you can come to me." Tsunade's words felt sincere and motherly.

"I'll keep that in mind."

The hokage rounded the desk again and relaxed back into her chair. "Right, you can go."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Tenten turned and took a few deep breaths before she reached for the door knob. She placed a hand on her cheek to check if it was still hot. Then she exited, ready to meet Kankuro's dark eyes.


Kankuro leaned on the wall opposed to the Hokage's office door. He clearly saw desperation in Tenten's eyes when she gave him that last look. Then, he couldn't help but reassure her with the only thing he could offer — his presence. He promised he would wait outside, so that was exactly what he did.

Faint sound of approaching steps made him lift his head.

"Yo." Shikamaru greeted with obvious lack of enthusiasm and looked at Kankuro with his dark and bored eyes. A mild curiosity appeared on his face, which he averted as he carelessly tucked his hands in his pockets. "What are you doing here?"

Kankuro squinted his eyes. In an instant, his mind was flooded with memories of his sister complaining about how immensely lazy the leaf shinobi was and how hard it was to make him elaborate. "I'm here for a mission," he shortly said.

"Tsunade-sama informed me that your troublesome sister will not be joining us for this year's chuunin exam preparations."

The sand shinobi nodded.

"I may be too ahead of myself, but I would guess that the hokage had already told you I'll need some collaboration by Suna's side anyway?" He asked.

"Yes, she did. I'll be taking the assignments related to the exams." Kankuro crossed his arms. "Instead of Temari."

"I see." Shikamaru casually leaned on the wall beside the other man. "So she really saved her neck, then."

Kankuro looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Well, she is currently indisposed," he picked his words really carefully.

"Is that so?" Shikamaru's gaze turned from bored to dangerously piercing for a fraction of a second; next, his eyes went back to the same state they were a moment ago — disinterested.

"I wonder what makes her indisposed," he mumbled quietly in a calm voice. It sounded more like a thought said aloud than a question

The door to the hokage office opened slowly, and Tenten emerged from the inside with slightly pink cheeks and relief written all over her face.

A breath of surprise hitched in her throat before she greeted, "Oi, Shikamaru!" She directed a forced smile towards him, drawing his attention for a few seconds, only enough for a nod on his side.

Then he turned back to Kankuro. Shikamaru's attention, as the sand shinobi quickly realised, had the qualities of a sharp razor. Cold shivers ran down his spine, and he barely suppressed the urge to hide. A very strong, unpleasant, unsettling feeling appeared that the "lazy man", as Temari called the leaf shinobi, could see inside his head. It wasn't an objective feeling, of course; he knew that. Still, it was something new he had yet to figure out how to handle.

"Well… I guess whatever holds the ambassador away from her duties should be important and justified," Shikamaru commented.

Kankuro looked at him and tried to assess what was the best thing to tell him. It couldn't be a straightforward lie, he concluded, so he settled for a half-truth. "Temari is currently unavailable," he whispered.

The leaf shinobi tilted his head slightly, and narrowed his eyes. He was assessing… Kankuro had the feeling that the thought processes currently running in Shikamaru's head were unreachable in speed. He didn't say anything more, but his dark eyes were gathering information from both Kankuro's and Tenten's faces.

Tenten felt the need to react somehow. "Didn't you say she was on some kind of bad-ass important mission?"

"In fact, I did" — Kankuro shot her a grateful glance — "Temari is on a long-term mission. There's no way she can be present, as unfortunate as it is."

Shikamaru's eyes flashed with ire, which in turn made Tenten flinch. She didn't remember ever seeing her fellow shinobi show any signs even resembling hostility. Then, she made an impulsive decision — the desperate situation called for desperate measures, right? That was why the kunoichi stepped ahead and took Kankuro's hand in the most showy way she could think of. However, it worked — Shikamaru's sight drifted to their hands, and a slight blush creeped over his cheeks. An obvious puzzlement could be read on his face for a short while.

"Don't worry about the exams. I'll fill up for my sister," Kankuro assured.

"Yes… But…" Shikamaru opened his mouth to say something more, but instead, he shook his head. "I'll have to explain everything to you from scratch." He gave a crooked, unhappy smile. "And all of that sounds like a headache."

"Well, you'll live through it." Kankuro shrugged, glancing at Tenten, unwillingly seeking moral support.

"We'll have to make it work," the leaf shinobi said thoughtfully.

"We will."

Shikamaru nodded distractingly. "I'll make sure to inform you of whatever I need to see you." He waved his hand as if he wanted to dismiss the whole situation. Heading down the hallway, the man had a blank expression and darkened eyes, appearing somewhat concerned.

"He is a weird one," Kankuro commented.

"He has… his weird side, that's true," Tenten confirmed while watching Shikamaru's back in the distance. "And even if I am used to his behaviour, he did seem stranger than his usual…well, strangeness."

"Is it possible he could cause a problem?"

The kunoichi pursed her lips and didn't rush with her answer. "He's too smart to cause a problem for the mission," she said slowly. "Though I have the feeling he suspects something…"

Kankuro nodded and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Let's go." Tenten nodded towards Shizune's desk. The hokage's assistant was going to give Kankuro information on where he should go. And his future wife planned on helping him get to the right place.


Thank you, mfw_no_gf!