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Chapter 7: Closer

Kankuro sat down beside Tenten less than a foot away. They were almost facing each other, so their ankles were mere inches away, nearly touching. She lifted her warm, hazel eyes with a curious flame flickering inside.

"Hi," he said quietly, a soft smile on his lips.

Tenten gave him a small smile back. She hadn't really communicated with Kankuro before this mission started. It was always the official minimum, consisting mostly of polite nods if they crossed paths on Konoha's streets. When he was chosen to take charge of the Surprise Attack Division during the war, she was honestly surprised and frankly impressed. And that was all. The next time she saw him, it was here, on this mission.

There was something curious about him — he had this strange ability to be serious, collected, and focused in one minute and then, in the next, behave like a child, not having a care in the world. It was interesting to watch him oscillate between the two states. Also, his jokes never crossed one's boundaries of comfort, which indicated he had a sober judgement of the other's personality. And he never seemed to be offended... He appeared to be... above it all. It was as if he were confident enough to let people make jokes on his account. That relaxed Tenten in some ways because it didn't require her to be extra careful about every word she said, as she had to in the beginning... around him.

Once they started to train together as members of the same team, Neji was very angry. She was a clever girl and learned fast that free, non-considerate talking was something he didn't cope well with; in return, it meant he didn't cope well with her and was something that threatened to ruin their team dynamics. That was unacceptable, so she, as the most versatile link in their team, adjusted well enough. And even after years of being together — after she had fallen in love with him — she was always careful of what she said and the way she joked around. Though, if she had to be completely honest, she was maybe the only person allowed to nag or even scold Neji.

Tenten let out a ragged breath, trying hard to push those thoughts to the back of her mind and focus on the here and now. "Hello, Kankuro-sama," she whispered back, letting mockery slip into her voice.

He let out his breath through his teeth, feigning exasperation. "So my official title seems to be entertaining you." He leaned in a bit, placing his cheek over the knuckles of his fist. His elbow rested peacefully over his right knee.

"Somehow it does," she admitted, being honest.

"And maybe you are even more entertained because my face looks better right now than it did yesterday evening? It probably doesn't poke out your eyes with its ugliness," he teased.

"Oh, yeah." She pretended not to be interested at all. "I am confident you will attract all the female gazes if you simply walk into a bar looking like this," she assured him with a serious expression.

He didn't answer right away but kept his dark eyes on hers — a playful flame flickered there, which surprisingly didn't make her uneasy, and she didn't feel forced to look away.

"Maybe you would be surprised," he said slowly; then he smiled and winked at her. "Actually, I could get quite a lot of females to ogle me."

"Honestly?" Tenten frowned in disbelief. "The girls drag me out to bars at least two times a week. How many men do you think look like you do now?" She slightly tilted her chin at him, emphasising her words.

"Believe it or not, you would even see some guys' heads turn after me in a bar," he confided to her with a smile that looked almost shy.

"Yeah, right!" Tenten chuckled silently, as she didn't want to alert her teammates.

"I start to think," he uttered, sounding nearly offended, "that you really have a problem with the way I look — in particular, my working outfit choice."

Her expression changed to a solemn one before she said, "You have no idea..." Tenten tried to keep her voice serious as well, but the mockery could be sensed rather easily.

Kankuro let out a stage sigh and just shrugged in resignation. Going along with her would be interesting entertainment for the time being. He liked to keep himself entertained. "There are just so many things one could do to be liked, you know..."

She leaned in, whispering, "You don't have any more tricks up your sleeve?" She raised an eyebrow. "I expected more out of you, Kankuro-sama."

He felt warmth creeping inside of his chest — it was pleasant and relaxing, and it has been a long time since he has had such an easy-going conversation with the words coming out so naturally. Kankuro thought of staging a little performance in order to get to know more about her. It always had some risks, but usually they were worth it. He prepared, turning his gaze down, and when he lifted it again, there was a definite shyness. His irises were half-hidden behind thick black eyelashes, drawing her attention fully when he whispered, "Well, my plan was to invite you to a dance during the next official dinner and sweep you off your feet," he declared evenly.

Tenten gasped, not at all expecting him to turn her words this way. He didn't give out any indications that he intended to get close to her in any romantic way. No, she wasn't ready for anyone to approach her in a romantic way. But this couldn't be, right? She looked at his serious expression and darkened eyes — he didn't seem like he was joking at all.

Kankuro assessed the lack of reaction and still decided to go along with his initial idea, adding, "Though, when I think about it more, I don't think this is happening."

Tenten looked at him yet again, and her expression started to somehow drift away. She distanced herself from him, but at the same time, she never really moved. It was all in her head... It was the ever-present source of her anxiety: Neji. He had taught her to dance. A few months before the war broke out, he had invited her to a formal gathering of the Hyuuga clan and asked her if she'd like to learn. She still remembered the little meadow they used for a dance classroom. His swift movements, his voice as he counted the tacts out loud — it was all still fresh in her mind. She could still remember his gentle gaze when she looked at his face, as well as the way his hands touched her so gently... His lips were so close sometimes that she could recall their shape, texture, and colour perfectly. Sometimes, she had the feeling as if he wanted to kiss her, but he would never do that; he would always hold back, and she was too unsure to lean in and close the distance. Actually, Tenten believed she imagined this desire of his. Until that very day, he actually pleaded with her to kiss him, right after he confessed his feelings to her.

Kankuro watched Tenten's changing expression cautiously — her face saddened, and pain crawled into her eyes along with tenderness. She had remembered something that was both disturbing and soothing for her. He did what he felt was right — waited patiently for her to start perceiving the world around her again. This simple distraction, combined with her loss of focus, provided an excellent opportunity for him to test her.

When he saw the first signs of returning focus, he spoke: "I really hope the conversation you had in your head was at least interesting."

Tenten looked at him with confusion, which, in turn, made him feel pity for her. He decided to explain, "It seemed as if you saw someone other than me here. I suppose it was a memory that sucked you in for the time being."

She gave him a doubtful look and shook her head. There was no way he would know what she saw or didn't see.

"There is absolutely no way you would know what's going on in my head." Her words were firm and confident. Her stomach, however, clenched painfully in a warning that she chose to ignore. "Has it crossed your mind that maybe I'm looking for a polite way to refuse you without stomping on your overgrown ego?" Tenten was aware that if she pushed him back, he might drop the matter. In theory. She didn't know him well enough to know if pushing back wouldn't have the opposite effect and make him insist more.

"You don't have to refuse anything, as I never actually asked you to dance," he countered ever so calmly.

She snapped her head up. "Oh?" The realisation fell on her like a bag of bricks — his words were true; he never asked her to do anything; he vaguely shared his eventual intentions.

They kept silent for a few minutes as Tenten avoided looking at him while he observed the dancing flames. They both spent time assessing each other and inwardly debating how they should proceed and whether the effort was worthwhile at all. Kankuro's bet with Kurotsuchi forced him to act, so he sighed quietly and gave her a small smile before whispering once again, "Let me try to explain what I mean?"

She nodded, giving him permission.

"When I looked into your eyes just a few seconds ago, I couldn't see myself there."

Tenten felt an instant tug inside her chest. For some undefined reason, she resisted letting him know she understood him. Somehow, his sentence passed through her brain and stuck directly into her heart. And she felt frightened because Tenten wasn't ready to let anyone so close, not yet. Kankuro would eventually become a friend if he didn't try to hit on her seriously, but right now he was just an interesting stranger. She didn't know enough about him and didn't trust him enough to respond with anything other than a half-joke.

Her hazel eyes focused on his face, and she slightly tilted her head to emphasise the mocking note; her lips curled into a forced smile. "Do you have sight problems?"

Kankuro sensed her tension and thought the best way to act was to pretend he didn't notice — he shook his head, chuckling. "I do not." He paused under her gaze and gave her more space as he looked down. His finger stabbed the sand and started to draw a small circle in it. "That wasn't what I meant."

She shifted and drew her knees closer to her body, creating an even larger buffer between them. Letting her instinct to protect herself take over would tell him straight away that he had guessed correctly about her memory. She didn't want him to know, and in case he did, she didn't want to confirm. "Of course you have been there... It is called reflection. Have you been sleeping during classes in school?"

Kankuro pressed his lips together and glanced at her before returning his gaze to the ground. "I'll elaborate. I've noticed an interesting phenomenon in the last few years. It is a very specific matter."

"And you are just going to share it with me? With a foreign shinobi?" Tenten raised an eyebrow in doubt. "Are you not afraid I may use it against you?"

He shrugged and shook the sand off his finger before he finally lifted his eyes and looked her in the face. "You are welcome to use it on me, though it won't be very helpful."

"Right," she said, the mockery audible yet again.

"Give something to get something, right?" Kankuro graced her with an almost-there smile.

Tenten shiverd. The feeling of having his undivided attention was unsettling in a way, as well as somehow thrilling.

"When you talk with someone, their eyes might tell a different story than their words," he continued, and she perked her ears in caution. "There is a change in one's eyes when they remember something strong enough to pull their entire attention astray during a conversation. The colour darkens a bit, the pupils dilate just a bit, and the person... shuts down for a brief moment, sinking into their own little inner world. In these precise moments, you may notice that your reflection disappears. There's no point in talking because the other person won't hear you. It usually lasts for a mere second or two, and it often goes unnoticed."

All the way through his speech, Tenten kept her narrow-eyed sight on him. She clicked her tongue in resentment. "I am sorry… But no," she said simply and crossed her arms.

He looked at her questioningly.

"Look, I understand you share something unique with me, and I appreciate it." She let out a breath, as if to relax a bit. "But hear me carefully when I say this: Kankuro, you have no right to meddle in other people's souls and minds." He frowned at her words. As a shinobi, one of the many useful skills was being able to perceive, predict, and mess with the enemy's soul and mind. "Many of them don't wish to be analysed, and you are obligated to take that into consideration-"

"I can't agree," Kankuro interrupted her. "It can save your life if you use this in a fight."

She paused, processing what he just said, and nodded. "That's right. But we are not fighting. For the time being, we are on the same side. Right now we are not enemies, but we are trying to be friends."

"That's correct," he agreed.

Tenten reached behind her knee and appeared to pull a kunai from thin air. She started mindlessly playing with it, drawing his attention to the reflecting surface. "So, as a person who is trying to accept you as a future friend, I am telling you that what you did was offensive and deeply embarrassing. To try to pry something personal from someone without their permission is simply wrong." She tried to sound calm and reasonable, but she was affected, and the accusation was audible.

Kankuro noted her mouth, pale from the effort to keep it shut. "Go on. Tell it all," he encouraged.

"And it is not fair," Tenten spat out. "It's not fair to pull it on people like it's nothing. It may be normal for you, but it is weird and threatening to others. Have your observations, but keep them to yourself," she finished in one breath, her tone still sharper than she would like it to be.

"I see." He muttered slowly and nodded. "I usually keep them to myself, actually."

"Then why did you share it with me?"

"Give something to get something," he repeated with a slight smile. "I guess I'm wrong."

"I'm sorry if I didn't meet your expectations," she added, anger flickering inside her hazel eyes.

"I didn't make a rightful assessment," he countered. "Anyway, I'll keep that in mind." He leaned in a bit, forcing a smile. "Thank you."

Tenten felt highly uncomfortable and shifted for a moment. She could see his annoyance with her comment, but he held it all in. Instead, he thanked her. Most of her male friends would have erupted with an angry outburst or simply told her off in the same situation; he didn't, which piqued her interest.

Honestly, Kankuro got more information than he intended to share. For example, she fell into her memories when he tried to pull a fairly light flirt on her — she literally blocked him off. He watched for her reactions, and what he saw was that she still had deep feelings for the person she had remembered. Those feelings weren't the kind one had for a sibling or a parent, neither for a friend or a comrade, but rather for a lover, a significant one. So she had that person back home, and she missed him a lot, or she had lost him somehow not so long ago. She also carried some kind of guilt, according to her feelings. Kankuro kept those conclusions to himself. She had the right to ask him not to meddle with her soul any deeper than she let him. Anyway, that didn't mean he would just toss away all of his habits of observation. There was no way he would do that. He was already curious, and the only proper way to get possession of the information he wanted was to be patient. He needed to gain her trust and expand her borders enough so she would voluntarily let him look inside her soul. She might choose to share with him her pain on her own, eventually. Anyway, all of this gave him an idea of the right approach he needed to use to befriend her. And he was already convinced he wanted to do exactly that. She was troubled, but interesting nonetheless.

A quiet noise forced Tenten to straighten her back and freeze in anticipation. Kankuro turned his head, and a quick look confirmed his suspicions. "Fox," he whispered.

The kunoichi followed the desert fox with her eyes.

"I feel you haven't said everything you wanted," he shared aloud.

"You made me feel really uneasy. And I am kind of prone to believe you know that." Kankuro didn't answer, and she continued. "I think all of that shit you pulled on me was with the sole purpose of exploring me," she paused and bore her eyes into his, "like a fucking map."

That was a well-aimed strike from her, which made the man smile, this time for real. He decided to stay silent. Her question was more rhetorical than substantive, requiring an answer from him.

"You are perceptive, you know that?" He asked, trying to redirect the not-so-subtle attack. Her quiet snort clearly showed her current opinion on the matter.

Kankuro's eyes observed their sleeping teammates, some of whom were just pretending to sleep. Maybe they were talking too loudly after all, and the awake ones were too polite to say so or too curious about their conversation. He lifted his hand, drawing Tenten's attention to it. His head tilted toward the teammates he was sure were not sleeping. She followed his gaze and nodded, indicating that she understood. They chose to be quiet for another ten minutes.

When Kankuro spoke again, his voice was almost inaudible, even for her, and she wasn't even a foot away. "Right, what would you say if we just got the uneasiness and anxiety to an even level?" He asked slowly, his voice trembling slightly.

She leaned in with a curious expression. "I am listening."

Her honest reaction made him smile. "Truth or dare?"

"How exactly will this even out the uneasiness when you keep trying to stick your nose in my personal matters?" She bit at him.

"You'll get double the information I get for every turn," he suggested, shrugging. "Does that sound fair to you?"

Tenten straightened her back while she stretched her legs ahead and rubbed her knees distractingly. She gave herself some time to think it over. Kankuro, on the other hand, could tell by the playful little flames that appeared in her eyes what her answer would be. Anyway, there was still something that restrained her from agreeing aloud.

"Would I be wrong if I guess that you are not certain you want to let me get closer to you?" he asked, and, after a short-lasting frown, she nodded at him. "That's fine." He pressed his lips together, assessing. When he reached a conclusion, he said, "Then you can set boundaries that are comfortable for you."

"Hmm… I don't want to answer any of your questions if I see them as too personal," she offered, a blooming grin on her lips.

"Is that so?" He chuckled silently. "So, you should take a risk with 'dare' instead and leave the 'truth' to me." Kankuro rubbed his hands together, returning the grin.

Tenten tilted her head playfully. "Could you remind me why I should agree to play this game with you at all?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because you can't possibly imagine a more pleasant way of spending your time during the night shift," he confidently replied.

She resisted his smile, pretending to mull over his words. Eventually, she nodded. "Very well… Truth or dare?"

Kankuro let his right leg rest on the sand and placed his elbow on the left one. He delayed his answer for a few seconds to prepare himself; he expected a low blow. "Truth."

"When you were a child... What was the thing that scared you the most?" She leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with a curious flame.

"The answer is really simple." He chuckled, though there wasn't anything cheeky about his laugh; it was rather a soft and sad one. "I was afraid of Gaara." His gaze drifted into the distance as he continued. "When the One-Tail Demon was still sealed into his body; when his emotions were running wild and he didn't have any control over them, when he had the absolute defence of the sand... No one could beat him down, and he knew that. He was relentless, caring only for himself. He wouldn't let anyone speak up or oppose him, just like a spoiled child, but a spoiled child shielded by a great, uncontrollable, and lethal force within him." Kankuro focused his gaze upon her, saying, "Many things have changed since then." He paused as if he weren't sure whether he should continue or not.

"Spill it," Tenten whispered, showing interest in knowing more about his past.

He sighed. "Temari and I were supposed to protect him, but we mostly protected the other people from him. We spent most of our time with him back then, and we were both terrified. I am really glad the circumstances turned around and he got a chance to change, and even happier that he took that chance."

"After Naruto kicked his ass and Chiyo traded her life for his?" she specified.

Kankuro nodded. "Yes, that change started with Naruto."

"It is my turn again, I guess?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "What are you afraid of now?" she asked right away, not bothering to wait for his confirmation.

The man wasn't too hasty with his answer. He really wanted to be honest, but he didn't want to start listing his fears. After all, her impression of him might be ruined and turned to ashes if he did that. Plus, she was interested in his greatest fear and not in all the little things causing him to flinch — as Kurotsuchi did sometimes, for example.

"That I won't be living up to Gaara's expectations for me," he admitted slowly. "This I could describe as my biggest fear. I can't say you look surprised." Even though his intonation was even, this was clearly a question.

"No… I think most of us are afraid to not meet someone's expectations — whether they be the kage's, the village's, the sensei's, the teammates'... There is always someone setting expectations for you, and you fight to not let them down." She shrugged.

She was right; it was always someone setting expectations that one doubted they would live up to. It was exhausting and often self-destructive.

Kankuro closed his eyes briefly, whispering, "So... truth or dare?"

She smiled. "Dare me."

"I dare you to learn to dance."

"Why do you think I can't?" She gave him a puzzled glance.

"Can you?"

"Yes, actually. But... your turn is over." Without even realising it, she stuck her tongue out childishly. Her good mood had returned, and she felt ready to smile and enjoy the company and her time, instead of feeling grumpy just because... They had established their boundaries. Kankuro gave the impression of being smart, so she didn't think he would try something unpleasant on her again.

"Too bad..." He sighed, barely suppressing a chuckle. "I guess I am picking 'truth' yet again."

"Who do you worry more about — Temari or Gaara? And why?" Tenten felt somehow enchanted by the relationship the Sand siblings had. She didn't have biological siblings, and she had an urge to know more about that. Lee has always been like a brother to her. It was different to have a brother of your choice later in life than to have someone who had been a part of your life since you could remember.

"Temari, definitely." He was so quick and definitive about his answer that it made Tenten flinch in response. "She is… so stubborn and deeply convinced that Gaara and I are still little boys in need of their big sister's constant supervision and care. She refuses to relax and think of herself; she refuses to look for something or someone that will make her happy."

"What makes you think she is not happy just as she is now?" Tenten asked with suspicion in her voice.

"Because I know the way her brain works. I know she's a good performer and pretends perfectly, but she needs more to be truly happy." His eyes dropped down to the sand as he added, "We are just not enough." He kept silent for the next few moments, then continued with a sigh, "It was years ago... It happened just after Akatsuki kidnapped Gaara, and I was in critical condition after I challenged Sasori." He paused as if he were trying to find the right words. Tenten hasn't noticed any communication problems with him, though she could clearly see this was hard for him to spell aloud.

"I know about that incident... It was when Sakura succeeded in mixing up an antidote for you, right?" She quietly asked, and he confirmed with a curt nod.

"Temari was right beside me all the time. She was holding my hand and repeated many times that everything would be OK." Kankuro looked into Tenten's eyes, and she could see the genuine gratitude he felt for his sister. "Being the oldest child, the big sister when there is no mother figure... She suppressed her own feelings, worries, and doubts so she could give me strength and support."

Tenten was quiet... No matter what she said at the moment, she wouldn't make it easier for him in any way.

"She just... broke down when I started to improve, and it was clear I was going to recover at some point. When I was well enough, the two of us went to one of the terraces in the Kazekage's tower and started to drink. We drank until the world became just a blur. And I am almost certain she doesn't remember that, but she told me that she had always wanted a family — a normal one — with a husband, who loved her and children that she could take care of. She'd never said anything like that before, so I remembered it even when I was totally wasted."

Tenten shook her head, making him shrug.

Kankuro frowned and continued, again almost inaudible: "That's why I am saying this is a deep and pure wish of hers — a need; a deep, burrowed longing. She wishes for a man to love her for who she is and not because she is a Kazekage's daughter. Probably you've never given it a thought, but there are quite a lot of men trying to approach her because of her title and bloodline." For a brief moment, his mouth formed a straight line inside the thick, purple painted line. "And honestly, if it is within my power to help her out about that somehow... I am going to do it with no regret."

Tenten's eyebrows raised in pure surprise. Kankuro sounded almost romantic. He should have something soft and romantic somewhere in his bones, even if one can't see it or doesn't understand it during conversation at first. The impression he left was that he liked women and wouldn't be the type to settle down for good. And, despite teasing him about his appearance, Tenten was convinced that females were happily stealing his attention and attempting to get him to tie the knot.

"Can I dare you now instead of asking you a question?" she asked, smirking, after she had waited a few minutes for him to relax.

"I guess?" he said, furrowing his brows distrustfully.

"I want you to take me to a bar, looking like that — with the hood, the paint, etc."

"May I ask why?"

"I would like to see for myself how many women would turn after you and try to hit on you," she grinned. "Call it scientific curiosity."

Kankuro was looking at her face in obvious confusion, but still he nodded. After all, it wouldn't be the first time he did something like that...

A few feet away, Lee slowly got to his feet, rubbing his eyes.

"Well, that should be all for tonight." Kankuro said quietly, and Tenten agreed with a small smile. Then she turned to Lee and smiled widely at him, mouthing, "Hello, Lee. Good morning!"

One more day had passed for the shinobi group, and they were yet again preparing to camp just beside the main road. They had insisted on stopping earlier than scheduled with the promise of catching up tomorrow and getting back on track. Shikamaru hadn't resisted but just shrugged. He could see his comrades wanted to do that, which wasn't the reason he let them; he agreed because it was a good opportunity for them to bond better.

It was still early for dinner, and there was enough time for extra activities. Therefore, Chojuro called Ruka over, a soft smile on his lips, and confirmed to her that they would go through their first dance lesson. The young woman was overly enthusiastic and barely held in her urge to jump around like a bunny.

Chojuro arranged his personal belongings, consisting of a bag and his sword, and headed toward the most even part of the meadow, followed by Ruka and Ameno. Both women took positions behind him and began to carefully repeat his movements while he counted out loud. He had stated that the lesson would be much more productive if they learned the separate steps first, then some combinations, and only then tried dancing with a partner.

Ino surprised Karui by grabbing her hand and dragging her towards their dancing teammates. Afterwards, she tried to do the same to Tenten as well, but the latter refused to move from her sitting spot. She would usually go along with the blond kunoichi madness. This time, she was really reluctant to do so.

Ino, still pulling Karui behind her, stopped near Chojuro and asked with bright, sparkling eyes if they could join in. There was no way he could refuse, so he accepted with a shy smile and a slight blush. When they received his nod, they lined up with Ruka and Ameno and also started to repeat the movements. It took awhile, but when all four started to perform the first combination without messing up, Ino set her hands like a funnel in front of her mouth and turned to Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru! Drag your lazy ass here! You promised!" she nagged and surprisingly he got up with a frown, sighing.

"I can't believe you're so easily yielding to a command," Temari teased, smirking. He turned to her, smirking back, which caused a clenching sensation in the pit of her stomach. "What was that?" she asked, puzzled and a bit wary.

"Giving in to commands can be... fun," he whispered, glancing at her underneath his heavy black eyelashes. She was stunned for a second, but meanwhile, he bowed lightly and headed toward Ino. He never turned back.

Temari stood motionless for a few seconds, wondering if she had imagined his smirk and his words. This definitely didn't sound like the Shikamaru she knew... Especially the smirk — it was confident, smug, and... vicious. Once again, it didn't look like Shikamaru. He would smirk sometimes, maybe even a little wickedly, but not like this. She had never seen him smile like this! Temari blinked and flinched, coming to a worrying conclusion: this could be someone else! What if he was replaced by a foreign shinobi and the real him was kidnapped or even killed? The bare idea shook her soul so hard that she let out a loud sigh and jumped on her feet.

Kankuro raised an eyebrow at her. "Wassup, sis?" he inquired, briefly capturing her attention.

"I need to check something," she replied. The guarded expression on her face stopped him from asking further, so he settled for a nod. "If I am not back in 10 minutes, come after me."

When she received another nod, she stomped towards Shikamaru and reached him just as he placed his hand on Ino's waist.

"Can I take away your dancing partner for just a little bit?" She turned to Ino with a much calmer voice than she thought it would sound. Temari even succeeded in pulling a polite smile onto her lips.

Ino grinned. "Of course you can! "He's all yours," she added with a wink as she stepped aside.

Shikamaru looked exasperatedly at his teammate, though he restrained himself from making any comments. When Ino shamelessly stuck out her tongue at him, completely ignoring his silent warning, he couldn't do anything else but roll his eyes. Soon, his focus was drawn back to the sand kunoichi: "Temari?" His face showed faint signs of worry at her expression. "What's the matter?"

"Please follow me. I have something important to discuss with you," she offered stiffly. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow but nodded anyway and gestured for her to lead the way. She spun slightly and walked toward the trees.

The man frowned while trying to catch up with her pace. She was walking fast and covering a distance — longer than he considered acceptable.

"Temari?" he called out. She neither replied nor stopped; instead, she just kept walking. "Temari!" he insisted, causing her to look over her shoulder. A strange determination flickered in her teal eyes when she took yet another step. "Stop!" He ordered, but she didn't.

Shikamaru shook his head unhappily. A desperate situation like this called for desperate measures, so he leaped forward and caught up with her. When she was in reach, he grasped at her arm, forcing her to stop and turn. "What is going on?" His voice was calm, though she could hear the hidden worry in it. He might be annoyed as well, but he didn't let it show.

Temari pulled away from his grip, taking off her fan in the process. She prepared herself to open it and attack him, which took him by surprise. "Shikamaru," she started firmly, "what did your father call you in the hospital?"

Shikamaru's mouth almost dropped open in confusion as he asked, "What?" He didn't understand why she behaved this way, out of nowhere. His body instinctively took a defensive stance.

"What did your father call you in the hospital while you were waiting for updates about Chouji's and the other comrade's conditions? Answer me!"

Shikamaru frowned — something had happened, and he had failed to explain it to himself just yet. But whatever it was, Temari acted very seriously; she looked almost freaked out. His reply seemed really important to her, and obviously, this was not a good time to mock her.

"He called me 'coward'," he replied shortly. "Twice."

She breathed out the tension with a deep sigh of relief, and her hands relaxed a bit, loosening the tight grip on the fan. In the hospital, when his father forced Shikamaru to reconsider quitting being a shinobi and called him 'coward', only three people were present: Shikamaru, his dad, and her. No one else knew about all of that, and she knew for sure that neither of the three had shared with anyone what had been said there.

"Now, would you mind explaining to me what is the matter?" He asked with a deliberately low and calm voice, as if he were talking to a scared deer.

"That… What you told me before you went to Ino..." She shook her head in denial, looking down at the ground. "That wasn't you... Your words, your smile... For Earth's sake, it was a smirk! I had a strong, overwhelming feeling that there was another man standing in front of me."

Shikamaru held his sight on her for a few long moments before she lifted her eyes to his face.

"I assure you, this was me, and it still is." He paused while observing her face. "I am sorry I have expressed myself in a way that has caused you to worry..." He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "But, Temari, the fact I am commanded by bossy women is not something new for you. You know my mother... You know Tsunade-sama, as you know Ino. For freak's sake, Temari, even you're trying to boss me around!"

She remained silent for a moment, her gaze returning to the ground — she was ashamed of her own overreaction, except that she was terrified of the possibility that this man might not be Shikamaru. Temari couldn't bear the thought that somehow someone could dare to replace him, and she just had to act right away with no delay.

"Come on, let's go back to the camp." His voice was soft; he was trying to lure her to look back at him. Also, he wanted to avoid the embarrassment that would undoubtedly follow because she had made a mistake. Blaming her was useless — after all, she acted in the sense of defending the group by exposing him in case it wasn't really him. Shikamaru was actually thrilled that she had paid such close attention.

Temari sighed and headed back to the camp slowly, letting him walk by her side.

"What exactly in my words worried you so much, apart from that smirk you mentioned?" he quietly asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Maybe," she replied, delaying her explanation by a few seconds, "it was just my imagination after all."

"But," he asked, looking at her, "I sense a "but."

Temari smiled briefly before continuing, "But what you said sounded to me like innuendo; as if it had some kind of... sexual meaning in it."

"Hm..." was all he added, though he never denied that there was such meaning.

"For all the eight years we've known each other and the five we've been working together... You've never ever made comments with sexual subtext, neither hints nor innuendos." She glanced at him and barely suppressed the redness crawling over her neck.

"So," he breathed out a sigh, "because I've never made comments that could be interpreted this way...?" Shikamaru left the sentence unfinished, and the question mark just hung in the air.

"I was under the impression you weren't... interested in such..." She attempted to complete the sentence but couldn't because talking with him about these matters was just too weird.

"You think I am not interested in sex at all?" The way he calmly pronounced the word "sex" made her shiver.

"No!" she quickly denied, only to turn her face away uncomfortably. "I don't know…"

"Alright." He stopped, pulling his hands out of his pockets. The next thing he did was grab her shoulder, forcing her to come to a halt and face him. His cheeks were burning red, but he ignored that and continued talking with an even and confident voice. "So, let me scatter your suspicions and doubts by saying this: I am a healthy young man. Everything that concerns healthy, young men concerns me as well, women and sex included. The fact I don't talk about it doesn't mean I'm not interested; rather, it means I find it too troublesome to vocalise it."

Temari flushed instantly at his intense gaze and his bluntly honest words. Incapable of reacting, she just stood there, watching him. She attempted to say something, opening her mouth a few times, but nothing really came out.

Only then did Shikamaru release her shoulder and turn in the direction of the camp. His fists clenched firmly at his flanks; his chest rose and fell while he slowly sucked in a few breaths until the blush left his face. He appeared to be — well, he appeared to be himself again.

The Iwagakure's ritual was going to start any minute now. All the kunoichis were arranged in a column, all of them dressed in white, barefoot, and silent, with faces and hair hidden.

Ruka took a deep breath. She liked being one of many without having to be anyone in particular. When the dressed-in-black male figure took its place next to her, she didn't look at him at first. She needed a few moments before daring herself to glance at the man. There was no way to tell who was hidden under the mask, and she inwardly refused to speculate, turning her covered face ahead again.

There were a few minutes left before Oonoki gave out a signal for the shinobi to enter the village. To her surprise, the man beside her reached for her hand and grabbed it firmly, yet somehow gently. She looked at him with a mixture of caution and curiosity, but his mask didn't move an inch — he was facing fully forward.

Ruka's small hand stiffened with the unexpected contact. She had not anticipated having to deal with the hand-holding until they began walking. After the brief initial shock, she noticed that the hand was large enough to wholly wrap around hers; the skin was rough but warm. The kunoichi nervously moved her fingers as if she were trying to observe the hand by touching it, to remember it, and to draw a map of it in her mind. She froze when she drove her thumb across the top — there was a rough scar there. This wasn't just any scar, but the same one on the same person's hand as the one in Suna. She moved her gaze slowly to the figure to her right. The chances of being paired to walk with the same person were very low, although it wasn't impossible.

The woman made an effort to keep her fingers from exploring and remained still; she recalled how the man made it clear he didn't want her to have the liberty of touching him senselessly. Right after that, she barely stopped herself from yanking her hand away as his fingers gingerly slid over her palm. He obviously made up his mind to return her daring investigations and explore her hand in return. Ruka squeezed her eyes shut and continued to suppress the impulse to remove her limb. It wasn't that the sensation was unpleasant; it was the opposite, actually. Although it was new and scary...

She felt her cheeks burning and inwardly thanked the mask for hiding them.

The man was being exceptionally gentle about his blind exploration, and he stopped abruptly the moment she showed the slightest signs of discomfort, such as a light tremble. He grasped her hand and lightly squeezed it, showing her that he wouldn't go on and she could relax. And that was what she did — took a deep breath and tried to loosen up a bit.

Oonoki gave the signal, and they headed forward to enter the village. The whole time she walked hand-in-hand with her unknown companion, she couldn't help but feel his warmth, and an unusual peace filled her. She felt protected.

To express her feelings of gratitude and calmness, Ruka squeezed his hand. He responded with a light squeeze back — he had understood.

Thank you, girls :)