#sincerely. Both me and Kumo

[electrasev5nwrites]

Ninja Daily: Vapors 89

Consciousness returned in stages. Pain was the first, but that was so familiar that it seemed like a constant state of being. The blissful feeling that she had some chakra back was the next thing Aiko knew. She wasn't awake enough to know why that was a good sign, but it was such a marked improvement from the last thing she knew that it seemed Aiko would never take it for granted again. She'd heard of chakra deprivation being used as torture before, but now it made sense.

Her vision still wasn't back. At least she had colors again, though, instead of just red. "That's a bad sign," she mumbled to herself, sitting up.

There was a curse.

"Sit down, stupid," a vaguely familiar voice snapped. A warm hand pressed her back down into the sheets. "You've been out for days. We got you a civvie doctor and she said the swelling should be going down, but…"

"We thought you were dead," another female voice said bluntly. "I'm glad you're waking up, because we aren't really that far from Ame and they're bound to be looking for us. We weren't exactly inconspicuous stumbling into town with you sobbing over Nii's shoulder."

"Yes, I hardly wish to linger here either," the lower voice confirmed dryly. "Uzumaki, are you following me?"

"I don't know what's going on," she mumbled, doing her level best to sink into the warm sheets around her body. The weight was comforting.

"Oh, shit," the first voice cursed lowly before becoming something softer and strangely maternal. "I'm Nii Yugito. Remember me? And this is Fuu, from Waterfall. You owe her a fight. Don't you fucking dare die on us now after we risked our lives to get you medical attention," the first voice warned.

Realization was unpleasant. "I remember," Aiko croaked out, reaching up to rub at her throat. "So, you say my head is better?"

"Yes and no," Fuu answered. "The swelling has gone down, but the original problem still remains. Civilian medicine doesn't have a fast solution, and we can't afford to stay here. You need to go home. Do you understand that?"

Fast solution or not, thank god that they'd gotten her a doctor. The pain in her head was much more analogous to what it had been when Itachi had first diagnosed her than what it had been even half a day later. She almost wished she'd been awake to thank the person who'd probably saved her life.

"What about you two?" Aiko sat up, letting her blankets fall down. "I mean, since you both stayed, can I assume you see the lack of sense in splitting apart right now to let them pick us off? I can take us back to Konoha. I promise you'll be safe."

"Can you really promise that?" Yugito was transparently skeptical.

"Yes," she guaranteed sincerely, turning to stare at the tannish blur that she was relatively certain was Yugito. "The Hokage is honorable enough not to capture two soldiers who came to her for assistance, and she's pragmatic enough to know that detaining you would mean war. If she tries, I'll fight her on it."

"It would mean war… If it hasn't already been declared," Yugito sighed tiredly. "The Raikage is furious, I am sure."

"Yeah," Aiko murmured, staring down at her legs. "I bet. I wish we could have just given you back C, opened up talk, and started to defuse all this crap."

There was a rather heavy silence, before Yugito pointed out with slowly dawning horror. "Uzumaki… we sent the message with the Hokage's reply as soon as we had it. The Raikage had already pre-approved a messenger to take a missive to Konoha so that his reply would be waiting when the Hokage got back. C was probably sent out days before any news from Kumo could have reached your country after this all happened. The Raikage… he's probably already declared war, but your escort team would have already left days before that news reach Konoha."

"He'll kill them," Fuu pointed out clinically. "Konoha won't know that the relationship isn't salvageable until its far too late to catch up, so it's highly unlikely that anyone would be able to stop them in time to save them. And then when it comes out that Konoha was uninvolved…"

"We'll already be committed, because Lightning will have made an unprovoked attack on a diplomatic team," Aiko summed hollowly. Well. That fucking blows. "Maybe it's not too late. Do you have any idea when that meeting was set for, where, and what day it is now?"

"Probably tomorrow," Yugito informed. "It's a long trip from Konoha to the border of Lightning. The timing was intended to force Tsunade to immediately send a team to avoid being late so that it was impossible to get there early and set up an ambush. They won't be dead yet. Konoha will know and have decided if they would rather risk sending a fast team in hopes of catching them or not, however."

Aiko paused for a long moment. "Do you guys ever feel like it's really exhausting to be a totally badass bitch all the time? I guess we should get moving. Konoha first."

"You just don't learn, do you," Fuu commented dryly, but she put a steadying hand on Aiko's shoulders nonetheless while she crawled out of bed.

"I most certainly do not," she lied briskly, crinkling her nose up at the teal-haired girl. She was a much more colorful blob than Yugito and thusly easy to identify. "Come on, you sissy. Don't tell me you're going to turn down another fabulous Hiraishin trip?"

"I could easily die happy with never experiencing that again." Someone flicked the back of her head. "But come on; that would be exponentially less likely to end with us getting snatched back up. We're barely past the border to Rain. I would be shocked if they weren't close."

"Alright, alright," Aiko sighed, blindly reaching out to grab at what she assumed was Yugito's arm. "Am I touching both of you? Yes?" She tugged.

The silence that followed was unexpected. "Ah, Tsunade-sama?" she tried, turning in a circle. There was no response from her Hokage.

"The office is empty," Yugito breathed. The sound of quick footfalls gave her the impression that she was walking to the window. "But we're definitely in Konoha," she pronounced grimly. "There's an enormous crowd around the other side of the building."

"Oh, she's making some sort of announcement," Aiko theorized vaguely. With much more effort than she'd like, she sought out Kakashi's Hiraishin, thinking she would just go to him rather than let two foreign nin guide her blindly through their administration building.

'Well, fuck. He appears to be passing through Bear country. With Yamato, and princess C. I probably should have noticed that before.'

That sucked big time.

"Maybe we should walk from here," Fuu said dryly, appearing to correctly interpret where Aiko's mind had gone. "It's just around the building. You use that as a crutch too often, and it's been hurting you. I don't fancy being trapped here while everyone dances around asking why our Konoha escort is unconscious and drooling on the floor."

Aiko reluctantly agreed despite her reservations. That would be a pretty awful situation to put Fuu and Yugito in after promising them safety. She let them lead her through the winding tower, planning to come up behind Tsunade on the balcony to check what was going on.

What she heard was not encouraging.

"Konoha can pull together. It is the strength in every one of us here, no matter who we are. We do not wish for war, but when it is come to our doorstep, will we cower?"

'No', came the answering reply from hundreds of voices below.

"Oh, this is awkward…" Aiko mumbled, feeling her face flush pink. There was a feminine gasp. A moment later, she was wrapped up in what felt like a running hug.

"Kami, Aiko!" Shizune sobbed into her shoulder, digging her fingers into the smaller girl's back. "I thought you were-we all thought you were…" She trailed off as her head raised from Aiko's neck. "Um… Would these ladies by any chance be-"

"Nii Yugito and Fuu?" Yugito asked dryly. "Yes. We just made an exciting escape. Can we go home now?"

Shizune was silent and still for a moment. "We should probably stop the war rally then, huh? Ah… Would you three ladies wait here?" She padded off a moment, and Tsunade's voice trailed off. She made a quiet, 'what?' and then there was covert whispering away from the sound system.

"I can't believe you people," Yugito whispered incredulously. "Isn't that going to be awkward?"

"Very," Aiko agreed. "But you know, whatever." She shrugged. "Would it be any better to call everyone back for another announcement tomorrow?"

The response was a disgruntled, "Ugh."

"Belay that!" Tsunade roared. A panicked whisper rustled through the crowd below. Despite their worry, her voice was downright chipper. "Men, women, and all manner of fabulous people of Konoha! I have just received badly timed but excellent news!" She paused, and in a faux-confidential tone into whatever was projecting her voice, "That means you can cheer again." An obliging roar of confused approval went up from the crowd. Fuu seemed to choke. "If you will recall I mentioned earlier that the Raikage thinks to lay blame for his recent misfortune at our feet."

Someone who sounded suspiciously like Karin yelled something rude, but most of the crowd was silent.

"He and others conclude that Konoha has begun hunting jinchuuriki. The declaration of war he has sent is a reflection of his desire to protect his own people, not proof that the Raikage wishes our destruction, and the sole evidence for his case rests upon the murky circumstances under which one of our own was kidnapped along with kunoichi from Cloud and Waterfall."

Fuu groaned. "She doesn't have to say it like that," she mumbled rebelliously. "It sounds like we're babies or something."

"Were you or were you not rolled up in a blanket and carried out of the hotel by a plant-man?" Yugito asked dryly. There was no response.

"Well, isn't he going to be embarrassed when we send back Nii Yugito, who is waiting in the tower behind me with Fuu of Waterfall and our own Uzumaki Aiko?"

There was a shocked silence. Then the street seemed to erupt with a deafening wave of sound.

"She lives for this theatrical crap, doesn't she?" Aiko sighed, curling her hands around the hem of her oversized shirt. "We should probably go out there."

"You first," Fuu replied mulishly.

Aiko raised a hand and pointedly waved it on front of her face. Then she stopped, because that was disorienting.

"Point taken." One of her companions wrapped a steadying arm around her waist again and the other hovered by her opposite shoulder, guiding her into the light and heat of day. The crowd was still going strong. She walked straight forward until the arm guiding her squeezed in warning and abruptly stopped.

"I feel like we should be waving or something," Yugito murmured, sounding so far out of her element that it wasn't even funny.

"Why the hell not." Aiko shrugged and lifted her right hand into a jaunty little wave above her head twice, and immediately jerked it back down when the volume only picked up. "I'm ready for this to be over now."

"I'm putting you on light duty for the next week," Sasuke briskly informed, briskly rubbing his thumbs into her temples. She tried not to wince. "That means no spars and try your best not to get kidnapped by international criminals. Stop wiggling, I need to be certain I got everything."

"Your bedside manner could use some work," Aiko critiqued sullenly.

There was a pause while he seemed to fight the urge to slap her upside the head and valiantly resisted on the grounds that he had just finished taking down the swelling and repairing the original damage from Konan-inflicted head trauma that had caused the trouble in the first place. "Shut up, idiot. There doesn't appear to be anything more than usual wrong with your head. Try following my finger."

Aiko pouted but obediently tracked the digit back and forth with her now perfect vision. "I could swear that you used to respect me," she sighed.

Sasuke gave her a thoroughly unimpressed look. "That was before I found out just how ridiculous you are."

'He's talking to me like I'm Naruto,' she noted with some bafflement.

"Be tsundere on your own time," Tsunade drawled, bopping her apprentice over the head with a clipboard as she sauntered in and tossed Aiko her headband, which had been left in Water Country since Aiko didn't wear it to bed. "Step aside. Lady with a hat coming through to check your work." At Sasuke's grunt, she placatingly added, "I trust you, but you've never seen anything like that before. Normally people either have the sense to die or are treated within a few hours with an injury like that," she grunted, nudging him aside and running a diagnostic. "Pretty good, Sasuke," she complimented. "Did you intentionally-"

"I thought it was better than the alternative," he replied immediately, tapping the clipboard Tsunade had handed over briskly.

She snorted. "Well, it's not conventional, but if the kunai cuts…" Tsunade straightened and pulled a sucker out of her pocket. Uncertainly, Aiko reached out to take it. "Well, unwrap it, little idiot." She petted Aiko's head.

'Everyone is weird. I swear these people used to be sane.'

Still, she obediently removed the cellophane and popped the candy into her mouth, letting the stick hang out the side of her lips. With her legs dangling over the edge of the examination table and swathed in her ridiculously oversized clothing, Aiko was starting to feel the creeping suspicion that Tsunade thought of her as a little kid.

"I'm an adult, you know," she pointed out a little rebelliously, narrowing her eyes at her Hokage. She didn't remove the candy, however. It was watermelon.

"Of course you are," Tsunade replied patronizingly. She turned to the door. "Which is why I don't need your legal guardian present for debriefing before I send you out again." She sighed. "I hate to push you, but I don't see another way to get Yugito back to Cloud's custody before Kakashi and Yamato get C there."

"I'll be fine," Aiko reassured, sliding off the table and following her out. Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets and slouched out, hovering at her side the entire walk to the office as if he thought Konan was going to drop from the ceiling and snatch her again.

'Who knew he was such a worrywart?' She shot him an unimpressed look. Slowly, he turned his head to stare her down.

Aiko had to shiver and look away. Okay, so he had an amazing bitchface.

A Chuunin runner arrived in the office about the same time they did, with a fascinated expression and a set of boots that replaced Aiko's lost ones. That was her first big hint that Tsunade would be letting her go out again. She ended up having to stuff her oversized pants into the small amount of open space between her skin and boots.

'I definitely need to get out of these clothes. They don't really work for me at all.'

It didn't seem like there would be an opportunity for that any time soon, however.

Debriefing was a mess, in no small part because it was a little hard to pick apart what of her perceptions had been overly affected by her less than ideal state of mind at the time. She sort of suspected that Tsunade didn't need to know that Uchiha Itachi smelled of off-brand pine soap but that his towels were luxurious, even though it had seemed important to note at the time.

She gave descriptions of all the Akatsuki she had seen—including that Hidan was apparently not deceased—and confirmed that their base had been in Rain. Aiko took the opportunity to subtly drop hints about Uchiha Madara. She couldn't very well come out and say that he'd shared his secret plots with her, but she could plant seeds.

"Wait, are you certain that Itachi deferred to this person?" Sasuke frowned. "I thought that this 'Pein' was supposedly the leader."

"That's why it seemed so weird," Aiko sighed cluelessly. "It was subtle, like it wasn't supposed to be talked about, but he was definitely wary and more deferential to 'Tobi' than he was to 'Pein.' Actually…" She frowned, and let uncertainty cross her expression before she shook her head. "No, it's stupid, and it doesn't make any sense. But at the time, I thought there was some sort of… I don't know, a similarity between the two? Something hard to put my finger on, but maybe it was the way they moved when Tobi wasn't pretending to be an idiot. Like they had similar training or something." She heaved a helpless little shrug, palms up.

That seemed to set off all sorts of alarm bells for Tsunade, but she kept whatever reservations she had locked up tight. "You said that Itachi's behavior seemed inconsistent? How so?"

"Ah…" She bit her lip, searching for the best way to phrase this. Did Tsunade know that Itachi wasn't behind the massacre? It wasn't like he would have come out and told her that over tea and cookies, but she could definitely hint, "It was very strange. He went out of his way to give away when the extraction would be taking place. Like he was helping me or something. If I hadn't known how desperate the time situation really was, I probably would have been locked up and been unable to do anything until it was too late."

Tsunade and Sasuke exchanged a significant look. Aiko tried not to roll her eyes. Perhaps they did know, then.

"Tsunade-baa-chan!" Naruto shrieked, flinging the door open. "The stupid receptionist said that Aiko wasn-"

"That's because she wasn't there," Tsunade confirmed placidly, letting a hint of fondness creep into her expression while the blond stared wide-mouthed at his sister for a moment. Then he leapt at her even as his lower lip wobbled.

'I hate these kinds of hugs,' Aiko thought tiredly as her feet dangled and her brother talked at a speed she couldn't decipher, doing his level best to deprive her of oxygen. 'I'm not a doll. My feet are meant to be on the ground unless I move them.' He seemed a mite upset, though, so she soothingly patted his back.

"There, there. It's fine."

He adjusted his grip to dangle her in the air across from his face, jaw dropped incredulously. "Are you seriously trying to soothe me?" Naruto demanded, sounding strangely irritated.

Her brow crinkled. "Well, yes. You seem upset," Aiko admitted honestly. She understood why he was, of course, and felt guilty about it. If their situation had been reversed... Well, she didn't know what she would do, but it probably would have involved sneaking out after him regardless of what Tsunade said and smashing in a lot of faces whilst screeching insults like a crazy person. But all the hugging and crying just made her uncomfortable. She'd endure it for him, but left to her own devices... Probably not happening. Too many feelings were wiggling unapologetically all over the place.

Naruto stared for just a moment. Then he rolled his eyes and crushed her back to his chest. "You're an idiot, nee-chan," he informed her thickly, face buried in her hair.

She pled for help silently, appealing to Sasuke and Tsunade with her eyes. They were wearing an unpleasant mirror of each others' smirking expressions and clearly enjoying her discomfort.

"You need to stop being kidnapped," Naruto informed her seriously, setting her back down on the ground with unusual gentleness. She subconsciously straightened at the hard, mature look in his eyes. "You're reckless with your life, nee-chan."

Aiko gaped at that hypocrisy.

He continued without the slightest hint of irony. "You know you're not immortal, right? I mean, I'm glad you're a hero and all, but you can't fight Akatsuki on your own." She furrowed her brow and started to say that she knew that, she didn't intend to, but he plowed right over her objections. "I know you. You get this stupid idea that you're going to do everything on your own. Well, I'm not a kid anymore, and you don't have to protect me from Akatsuki." He all but glared her down. "Work with me. I want that. But I won't allow you to act like you're the only person who can get things done."

She whimpered a little bit, but seemed to receive no sympathy whatsoever. "Well said," Tsunade crisply cut in. "Naruto, I'll take that as a promise from you to not do anything reckless yourself, since you can see why it's a bad idea."

From his puzzled expression, Naruto didn't seem to have considered that his lecture could apply to himself as well.

Tsunade was far too amused for Aiko's comfort. "That said, I need you to grab Nii and take her to Kakashi. Hopefully, you can head off whatever Kumo has planned. Surely, if they see her there…" She cringed a little, raising a shoulder in a shrug. "It's the best we've got."

"Can do," Aiko blandly shot off, relaxing into a slouch. "Is she still in the hospital?"

"She's being escorted here after she's checked over," Tsunade reassured her. "She wasn't in bad shape, though. It should be soon." Then she heaved a sigh. "I'm so glad you're back, Aiko. I still expect Jiraiya to come swooping in here and rip me a new one for letting you get snatched," she groused with a tone that implied she thought she deserved it. "No doubt he's heard by now."

"I'm sure the pervert will be reasonable," Sasuke grunted disinterestedly.

Naruto just about choked, wide-eyed. "It's like you've never met him. He's the biggest drama queen I've ever met. Do you or do you not remember that he's composed a song and choreography for whenever he has an opportunity to introduce himself to a new person?"

The Uchiha cringed. "I was trying to forget."

"If we can't, I don't see why you should be able to," Tsunade replied with brutal honesty.

There was a knock on the door and Shizune led Yugito inside.

"Oh thank god," Aiko mumbled quietly to herself. "Are you as ready as I am to get you home?"

"Have a safe trip," Tsunade said blandly. "I would suggest that you come back the conventional way. This is important enough to risk the Hiraishin on the way there, but I don't understand it well enough that I want you abusing it right now."

Aiko bit down gently on the hard candy in her mouth in an attempt to avoid informing Tsunade that she sucked. The glare probably expressed the same thing. She dislodged the sucker just enough to mumble, "I'll see you guys in a week or so, then."

"I feel like a child being dragged around," Yugito sighed, looking distastefully at the hand Aiko offered. Still, she took it.

To save at least a little of the older woman's dignity, Aiko dropped the limb as soon as she had re-oriented them.

And blinked at the backs of three startled men who split apart in various directions at high speed. She snatched Yugito's hand right back up to drag her down into the dirt with a yelp to avoid the shuriken that came swinging through the air.

"I can't believe I missed you people!" she snarled, pulling her chin out of the dirt with a mulish expression.

She couldn't see Kakashi's face, but Yamato appeared to be broken, jaw hanging stupidly open. C seemed oddly relieved, until she remembered Yugito was one of his comrades. That was probably who he was glad to see.

Yugito yanked her hand away and shot up with a spine like a steel rod even as Aiko pushed herself up to a standing position as well.

"I guess this means you aren't dead," Yamato finally vocalized, pitch a little higher than usual. He put a fist to his chin and coughed twice, and it was normal the next time he spoke. "I'm glad to see you. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Aiko gave him a tired smile, half noting that Yugito and C were communicating in what appeared to be one of their villages hand sign languages with occasional significant glances at one of them. "Have had better weeks, though," she admitted. Yamato made a small, strained sound, and his head turned towards Kakashi. She followed the motion reflexively.

His expression was completely indecipherable, but definitely intense. Standing under that gaze made her feel a little uncomfortable. Aiko shifted her weight from one foot to another, but in the seconds that followed, Kakashi made no move to say anything or look away.

"Hi?" Aiko tried faintly. When he made no move to reply, she concentrated on looking at the bridge of his nose because there was something she couldn't quite identify in his visible eye right now.

'You think you know a guy… Still waters run deep and all that. He's nothing like Naruto, but maybe…'

"If, um…" she cleared her throat and started again with a decent impression of her usual flippancy. "If you need a hug, I know a guy." Aiko jerked her head towards Yamato, and then took her sucker out of her mouth and twirled it just to have something to do with her hands.

Kakashi seemed a little amused, and his face lightened. He closed the distance between them without saying a thing, and for one bizarre moment, she thought he really was going to hug her. Not that he couldn't hug, of course, but he was just such an intensely private person that it seemed out of place with two strangers present. Instead, the hand in his pocket came up and brushed through her hair. It withdrew almost immediately, but there was a familiar weight against her scalp when it did.

"Try not to lose this the next time you get kidnapped?" he drawled, crinkling his eye up into a cute imitation of a smile. "Tsunade gave it back to me for lack of anything else to do with it, but I'm afraid it doesn't look as good on me."

For some reason she couldn't quite identify, Aiko flushed what had to be an ugly shade of red and averted her eyes down to his sandals.

As it turned out, the Raikage didn't believe in delegation. Despite Kakashi and Yamato's reservations, Yugito had taken the group's lead to make it easily visible that the situation had changed. Aiko was grateful for that when the Raikage met them dead-on and four Jounin flanked them. She forced her body language to hide her discomfort and painted a pleasant smile onto her face. This wasn't someone she wanted to display aggressiveness around.

"What is this?" he demanded. The Raikage was an enormous bear of a man: not as tall as Kisame, no, but even wider built with obscenely bulging muscles.

And the weirdest fashion sense she'd ever seen. He was bare-chested despite the cold, but had apparently thrown on a scarf on his way out the door. What the hell? Was he planning on going to Laputa or something? In combination with the gigantic gold belt he was wearing… Well, she didn't know what to think.

"Greetings, Raikage-sama, from Lady Tsunade," Kakashi cut in silkily. "I believe these are yours?" He nodded congenially towards Yugito and a sheepish looking C.

"Is this some kind of trick?" He narrowed his eyes at the group, giving Yugito a suspicious once-over. "Are you trying to trick me with a fake? Or are you just admitting your complicity?"

"Neither, Raikage-sama," Aiko tilted her chin up to make eye contact. "I apologize for the delay, but Yugito-san and I only escaped Akatsuki's hospitality recently."

He seemed unconvinced. A plodded towards her, coming far too close for Aiko's comfort, and then bent just enough to make eye contact. "Are you trying to pull one over my eyes, girl?" he breathed. "Don't underestimate the Raikage. Is this an ambush? Konoha said they were sending two Jounin, and here I see three marked Konoha shinobi. If those two aren't really mine, then it sure looks like you just wanted a fight." He grinned unpleasantly into her face.

Aiko resisted the urge to step back. "Of course I don't want to fight you," she said practically. "You'd kick my ass. I like my bones the way they are, thank you, unbroken and in place."

There was a small, frustrated groan from either Yugito or Yamato, but she didn't turn in time to see who had made it. A slowly exhaled and raised one brow. He looked a bit pleased, though, by the calm acknowledgement of his physical superiority. "Darui. You would know C anywhere. Is this him?"

One of the Jounin stepped forward and made a detailed examination of the sulky-looking blonde, tugging his hair, asking him quiet questions, and then stepped back with a content smile. "Yes it is, Raikage-sama. And I would wager that's Yugito-san as well."

"I can confirm Konoha's account," Yugito stepped in professionally, now that all the attention was on her. "We were held in custody of a group of missing nin who expressed the intent to unseal the bijuu held in Fuu-san and myself."

"And Konoha couldn't have tricked you and sent this girl to rescue you to gain your allegiance?" A asked skeptically, pointing rudely at Aiko with one of his sausage-sized fingers. She scowled at it.

Yugito was calmer. "No, Raikage-sama. That doesn't fit. I suspect that her stay in Akatsuki custody was rather more unpleasant than mine. If Konoha had meant to gain our trust, they would have had us bond in captivity and not risked losing their operative."

Aiko cringed, and determinedly did not meet eye contact with anyone. That hadn't been her best moment.

"I see, I see." Aiko just about jumped out of her skin—the Raikage was about two inches from her nose, peering at her contemplatively. He didn't look that impressed. "Is this really the Fourth Hokage's child?"

Kakashi jerked unpleasantly. That, Aiko found interesting. He clearly didn't like or expect that to be public knowledge. That implied…

'Did dad have history with the Raikage?'

Despite her trepidation, there was nothing for Aiko to do but to acknowledge it. Tsunade had already let that particular cat out of the bag. "I am." She tilted her head up slightly, unconsciously challenging him.

His eyes narrowed, tracing the contours of her face—her cheekbones, jawline, nose, and settled on her eyes. "You do look something like him," A acknowledged, straightening up to peer at her from a distance. "Especially the eyes, and that dopey look on your face."

'Dopey? Seriously?'

Offended, she scowled at him.

He laughed.

That wasn't the reaction she was going for at all.

"Konoha did pull one over on us," A declaimed, looking at her with a serious expression but amusement in his eyes. "Or two, the way I hear it."

She said nothing in response to that, but her 'adorable little girl' act had been thoroughly abandoned in exchange for what she might have termed 'an expression of anger' but Yamato clearly thought was a pout, judging by his poorly hidden amusement.

"Bah," A dismissed. "Did you bring the kid for any reason other than to show me how bloodlines weaken in Konoha over just a generation?"

'I'm going to smash his face open like a grape.'

"Yes, she was meant to remove the seal placed on C." Kakashi shoved his hands in his pockets as if he was bored. Sullenly, Aiko nodded in agreement.

"Well, then do it." A gave her a skeptical look.

She turned her face away with a huff and jutted her chin out, turning away. Aiko didn't trust herself to say anything without resorting to informing the Raikage that he was a big old dummy, so she gritted her jaw shut and turned away. C looked a bit uneasy to see her stomping towards him, but gave a sideways glance at an amused looking Yugito that implied he would consider edging away if he didn't risk getting mocked for it.

'Not in the mood for your shit, or anyone else's for that matter.'

The expression on her face must have been truly hideous, because C looked about ready to roll over and show his belly. In the back of her mind, she noted that she really might have unnerved him when they'd fought and it wasn't entirely fair to take her anger out on him.

Aiko did not care. She walked right up to him and jerked C's shirt right up, slamming her palm into his gut.

Kakashi made a strange choking sound behind her.

She wasn't paying attention. With more vindictiveness than usual, she gathered up the seal and yanked it off his stomach. Irritably, she shook her fingers and forcibly dissolved it, and yanked the shirt back down forcibly. "Don't be such a baby," Aiko huffed, giving him an unpleasant look.

Then she tossed her hair over her shoulder and stalked away, back to where Kakashi and Yamato were still standing. Aiko did her level best to communicate, 'Can we go home now?' through her expression, but they didn't seem to be registering it.

"Hmm." A shot her one last look, before turning to stare down Kakashi. He appeared to be asserting his dominance, but Kakashi deflected the potential dick-waving competition by appearing not to notice.

'I take back what I said earlier. The Raikage sucks. I bet Kakashi could kick his ass.' Aiko narrowed her eyes at him. 'And he could do it with his shirt on.'

"This is a little off-putting, you know," A pointed out to the group at large. "I was planning on killing you for your treachery after C was released into my custody, and I do hate changing plans."

There was a sudden, noticeable heightening in tension.

"But I can see that I was mistaken. It isn't Konoha I need to destroy."

'First half intelligent thing he's said since I met him,' Aiko thought mulishly.

"I promised to treat with Konoha," A sighed, scratching at his chin. "But that Senju woman—I've always thought she was so weak. Did she ever get over her fear of blood? Ha!" He shook his head. "You're Konoha, kid. You look like a damn idiot, but I respected your father. Do you have anything intelligent to say? Make your case."

Well, that was awkward and not entirely conventional. Was he going to be offended if she refused to talk to him? She could deal with Tsunade later.

"I don't like you," Aiko said bluntly.

She could almost hear Kakashi's hopes for this encounter to go well flushing down the drain.

"But I think that we should work together. You have as much reason to hate Akatsuki as I do- maybe more. I can't blame you for turning against Konoha when you thought we were responsible. If I thought Kumo had killed my otouto, I would burn it to the fucking ground and then turn it into a swamp."

"I can't believe Tsunade made you a diplomat," Kakashi muttered sullenly behind her. She ignored that. Now wasn't the time for his negativity.

Aiko fixed A with a dead serious expression. His gaze was evaluative. Contrary to what her companions seemed to think, her strategy had been tailored for him and seemed to be working acceptably. He didn't look like he was about to dismiss her: A seemed blunt and like he valued it when people didn't tell polite lies. He respected strength and was proud of his own. She didn't want to seem weak in any way around him. Encouraging him to think that her position was similar to his by stressing that they both had jinchuuriki for little brothers couldn't hurt, either.

"That's what you should want to do to Akatsuki. Put them all twenty feet under in B's name. I'll do anything in my power to ensure you get the eight-tailed bijuu back if you help me rip every one of those irritating idiots from limb to limb. I'm sure you don't want morons trying to rule the world any more than I do."

He paused, and tilted his head slightly to the side before he asked, "Morons?"

Aiko nodded gravely. "They're really dumb."

A's lips twitched. "Well, we can't have that," he allowed gravely. His hands shot to his hips in a heroic pose and he squared his shoulders. "Alright! You've convinced me, shrimp." (He seemed to ignore the sudden spike in killing intent from Aiko. Possibly because Yamato had laid a desperate hand on her dangerously still shoulder to prevent her from leaping at the Raikage to throttle him.) "The Raikage agrees to ally with Konoha and their flimsy allies to hunt the organization known as Akatsuki!"

"I'm so grateful I could cry," Aiko gritted out through her teeth.

Seriously, shrimp? Shrimp?! She wasn't small, he was oversized and his face was stupid. And besides, shrimp were so gross.

"I think he likes you," Kakashi said blandly as they traveled through Bear Country towards home. A lesser man might have quailed under the look Aiko shot him, but the bastard probably found it funny.

"I don't like him," she huffed, sticking out her lower lip. "He's rude."

Yamato snorted. "Coming from you?" he started dryly. "That sounds a bit hypocritical. You really have that redhead temper sometimes."

"I'm constantly impressed by your dignified handle on diplomacy," Kakashi added, insufferably amused.

"And the way you never tell foreign heads of state that you dislike them." Yamato smiled.

'Are they seriously teasing me? I got the job done, didn't i?'

Aiko glowered. "You guys suck. You just suck."

They continued to suck when they set up camp for the night.

"I'll run the perimeter."

"No, I think I've got it." Yamato bounded off before she could move. Aiko was left blinking as he cleared the area.

"O-kay," she drawled uncertainly. That was weird. "Alright." Kakashi gave her a strangely pleased look, but offered no comment. Something similar happened after they'd eaten the rations for the night.

"I'll take first watch. Tenzou, you're second."

Aiko raised an eyebrow, wondering why he hadn't bothered to complete the obvious corollary that she would be on the third shift, but obligingly settled down to rest.

"Aiko, what are you doing?"

She dug her face out of her arms to give him a quizzical look. "Going to sleep?" Aiko tried delicately.

Kakashi shook his head disapprovingly. "You didn't bring your gear?"

Aiko gave him a deadpan expression. "No, I think I left it with Itachi. Do you think I should go back and ask for my stuff back? He seems like such a nice guy. And his friend Tobi was great too. We played Go Fish and talked about boys."

They hadn't really talked about boys, but the addition had just felt right.

Kakashi didn't seem terribly pleased by the reminder. His lips seemed to thin under the mask he was wearing. "Is that why you're wearing men's clothes? Where did those come from?"

"Er-" Involuntarily, Aiko glanced down. It was pretty obvious that they weren't hers. "Yeah, mine pretty much got ruined. These belonged to that one blond Akatsuki."

If it was possible, he seemed even less thrilled. "I see." Without a word, he stalked over to his bag and unzipped it

"Um…"

"Here."

Aiko automatically caught the fabric that came winging her way.

"It's been worn, but it's better than wearing something you got from the Akatsuki," Kakashi muttered darkly. "For all you know, it's been trapped or they can track you with it."

That seemed excessively paranoid, but whatever. She blinked at him expectantly, but he didn't seem to get the hint. Eventually, she raised an eyebrow. "Well, are you going to turn around so I can change?"

The mildly surprised look he gave her implied that he had forgotten there was a necessary transitional stage between 'wearing Deidara's clothes' and 'wearing other clothes'. He did turn around, back stiff. As soon as she was done, he scanned the area again as if he thought the forces of evil had been gathering in the last thirty seconds.

She noted somewhat grudgingly that his clothes fit her even worse than Deidara's. Kakashi might have caught the slightly longing look she gave the items she'd just removed, because his eye narrowed and he took them out of her hands- and threw them directly on the fire.

'Okay,' Aiko thought slowly. 'Let's slowly back away from the crazy person.'

"You can have my kit for the night," he called dismissively over his shoulder. It didn't seem like a good time to question him, so she just crawled into his bedroll and tried not to contemplate how bizarre everyone else had suddenly become.

They never did wake her up to take a shift on watch.

[anonymous-eggy]

Currently: still considering running away from all responsibilities in Arvore to sail away forever with Rian

[arleendoeswords]

This is the season for Miggy!

Ah so many thoughts about 4x01! Besides the obvious fun with the book and kiss, there are so many great set ups for this season which we are going to have a blast seeing come to fruition. I'm sorry, this is a lonnnng post. More after the cut.

They are openly respectful of the other:

It has been three hard-earned seasons of development and progress, but our children are finally in a place of mutual respect. Also, they BOTH feel they can fully rely on the other. The mutual 'favor' scenes are there to show this.

This is further shown in the scene where Thomas asks her not to do go after the vaccines, but he knows she will. Because he knows her and what she 'really needs' he knows he can't stop her. He instead tries to reason with her by using her name, showing the seriousness of the conversation but in the end simply asks her to be careful. Believing in her ability to take care of herself and getting the job done. This softness is also shown the care they have with each other when he asks her to be safe and when they say they miss the other.

We need them to be in this place, a place of mutual, and acknowledged respect.

They were building all throughout last season, but was fully firmed up with Higgins leaving at the end of the last episode.

Also, can I tell you, my favorite part of the episode part sentence, when Higgins is talking to the MI6 scary woman, and was talking about Magnum finding out because he was "a very good detective."

This really stood out to me, because it is showing how much she thinks of and believes in Thomas' abilities and they are enough to that she knows she is going to have a VERY HARD time keeping the MI6 thing from him.

The seed of 'them' has been planted in their minds:

Yes, the mention of them being a thing isn't new. At some point any character who isn't part of the case of the week has made a remark to either Thomas or Juilet that there is something more than 'friendship' between them. However, either one of them has ever been ready to really entertain this idea.

Before you can think of a friend that way, you have to really have a solid foundation in your friendship first. Often when this happens you see that person in a certain way and any other perceptions are rejected. Again, this is even more true because both Higgins and Thomas were still not on equal footing. Thomas is obviously the more open of the two and able to express and respect Juliet without a great deal of trouble. That is how he works and how he loves.

In this case, the person who needed to grow the most is Juliet, who has been closed off from any relationships (friendship or romantic) for years. First, she finds him an immature moocher who is questionable and not worth her time. Then they become friends, but there are always the remarks, the barbs to keep a distance. Then there were the moments she had to admit she was wrong and be vulnerable with him and realize, while he may joke, he could be trusted with her thoughts and emotions. He could be trusted and that for her was a massive step forward.

Which is why that line about him being a "very good detective" delivered to a shadow figure in a major intelligence office with complete sincerity is such a fantastic jump to how she views her relationship with him.

For Thomas, he had always removed the possibility of them being more than friends because, in the back of his mind, he doesn't think there could ever be a way for them to be anything but that. She is Juliet and so beyond what he can even think of as a romantic partner. Until Kumo says the thing about them hooking up in Chapter 9. His immediate reaction was, "Ekk no!" because that is what we do when are presented with an idea that we secretly really want (often without knowing it) but never allowed ourselves to think of it. We deny it, vehemently. He is still thinking about it when he talks to her and they have that fun misunderstanding. Again, going a step further and saying he was going to rip the pages out and not read it.

Thou, protests too much, my dear Magnum.

Then, when he has a lull of time and his girlfriend is arriving any minute at his place, he can't help but give into the curiosity of what-if and open the book.

And sweet merciful heavens, what a wonderful, campy, but the hot little scene he reads right before the REAL Juliet calls and throws him off.

Now, we have the idea of them together, kissing and leading to other things, romantic and erotic in nature, immediately connected to her in real life, calling and telling him she is coming home.

He will deny it and push it far back. He may even regress, friendzoning her and pushing his relationship with Lia as proof he doesn't want to be with Higgins, but oh, that is going to blow up in his face so hard and it going to be glorious.

So much angst and bad timing coming our way:

We have multiple levels of angst and tests coming our way and I am living for it.

The secrets

We have two sets of secrets. One for each of them. And neither one of them likes keeping secrets from the other.

The secrets will be a test of their ability to forgive the other and how much they can rely on each other.

Romances

I expect Ethan to be gone by episode 3 or 4 at the latest. Lia will most likely be with us for most of the season. She is the foil we had with Ethan last season. Again, this mainly forces Higgins to grow and evolve in her ability to connect with Thomas. Ethan was her first real attempt to be in an actual long-term relationship. Magnum can't be the endgame at this point. She isn't ready for them to be more than friends.

Until now. Now, she has tried the relationship. Ethan and she will break up because they aren't on the same page. Talk about pages, she will read the chapter in the book and it will plant the seed for her to see Magnum in a different light.

Then in true romance writing 101 when you want a character to realize their true feelings about someone, often you will make them really unavailable. This time it will be Magnum who will seem to be in a happy relationship. One that may work for him and one that seems to close that possibility of a romantic relationship with Magnum door in Juliet's mind.

Except it won't. And she won't be able to stop herself. I won't be surprised if she is the one to tell Magnum first about her feelings. Remember the "cold" description she didn't like about T.R. Bell, which will be off played by a 'warm' action by her much later in the season.

I expect Juliet to realize her feelings first, be pining most of the season (god yes please), and then Magnum having moments where the idea of them keeps coming up in his mind. Obviously, it will be the end of his relationship. Again Lia is a foil, so lots of comparisons and things she does which might seem like she gets Thomas but she doesn't in the same way as Juliet. Just like Ethan doesn't really get Juliet.

Then we will have great, awesome life and death moments where the bullshit will be stripped away and these two wonderful idiots will literally try to die for the other.

I can't wait. Going to be an awesome ride!

[atxlxs]

Beyond The Veil: Chapter 10

The Bakugo family dynamic was one of the most unusual Eras has ever seen.

Mrs.Bakugo was an aggressive woman with a confident set to her shoulders and a mouth that puts sailors to shame. Mr.Bakugo, Masaru, was calm and serene. He only stepped in when Mitsuki, Mrs.Bakugo, either didn’t get her point across or was getting riled up. The two complimented each other well and Eras would have been amused if they weren’t currently grating on the last of her nerves.

The word “conditioned” came to mind when she remembered Muska’s parting words from the nurse’s office.

She really hopes these people didn’t help create whatever mental state the ‘Bakugo’ responsible had. She was also starting to realize how confusing referring to people by last names was. You’d think she’d be used to it after all these years. God, she wished she wasn’t here.

During this thought process, the glare she pinned All Might with from earlier never let up. The man was shivering.

“Ah, Welcome! I see You’ve already met Midoriya-san?” Nedzu asked.

The three newest members of the meeting room all nodded as they sat down. The Bakugo’s spared more than a few glances at the newly inflated All Might and Eras herself. She could understand on some base level that seeing someone glare at the number 1 hero was probably rare.

“We’ve been best fucking friends since highschool. Also, I already know it’ll be fuckin confusing so just call Me Mistuki and Masa here Masaru.” She said head held high yet Eras noted the slight defensiveness in her posture.

That was expected, they were here for a training accident after all. One caused by her son but Eras had a feeling she didn't know that yet.

“You can call me Inko as well,” Inko shifted with nerves as she wrung her hands together in an effort to still them, “Is my son alright?”

Nedzu nodded and went to speak, however Eras spoke up first, finally tearing her gaze away from All Might. The man let out a barely audible sigh of relief as she did so.

“You son is doing fine Inko-san. He was quizzing my ward when I went to the infirmary earlier. Sorry to cut you off, Nedzu, however I believe a first hand account would be better than one given by a principal, even if she doesn't know me personally.” Eras saw the tension ease a bit in Inko’s shoulders in response.

“Ah thank you, You're right about that. Your ward? Ah sorry I never caught your name either.” Inko asked, a nervous but nonetheless bright smile on her face.

“My name is Viridis Eras, You can call me Eras considering we’ll be speaking of my ward during this meeting, and I say ward because though she is not my child she is under my care. I was good friends with her parents and so after they passed she came under my guardianship.” Holding up a hand to preemptively silence the condolences, she continued. “It happened years ago so no need for the sorrys.”

The newest occupants of the room all nodded as they redirected their attention to Nedzu, confusion evident on their faces. Nedzu, seemingly able to sense the need for an explanation, cleared his throat and replaced the polite smile on his face with a serious look.

“Thank you for that, Eras-san, though I believe I need to specify why I have called you all here today." Well that confirmed her suspicions from earlier, " As Eras-san already knows, considering her circumstances she was given a summary before getting here, there was a training accident during class 1-A’s heroics class. The injured participants were Viridis Muska and Midoriya Izuku. Though both are completely healed now, except for some aggravated skin where burns were healed.”

Inko looked to be on the verge of crying and the Bakugo’s looked to be edging on realization to why they were called. The word ‘burns’ probably clued them in. They kept shooting glances between Inko and herself.

“The cause of these burns was a gauntlet used as support equipment for Bakugo Katsuki. He was warned beforehand that at close range and indoors, his equipment could be lethal and was ordered by the present instructor, All Might, to stop. He didn’t listen.”

Nedzu paused and let reality seep in. Inko was now actually crying, though not as much as Midoriya was in the infirmary, and the Bakugo pair were now pale. Eras sighed and it dragged the attention back to her. Confusion starting to invade previously horrified faces. Eras allowed her gaze to remain neutral as she turned it onto the Bakugo pair.

“Before I speak my mind on the matter, I would like to ask whether or not this behavior present in your son was encouraged,” once again raising a hand to silence the onslaught she continued, “not that I expect you to encourage violence in him, but did you ever notice previously that his schooling may have intentionally avoided discouraging his tendencies?”

Mitsuki opened and closed her mouth, obviously wanting to retaliate but she sat back and shut her mouth with a scrunched expression. Probably searching for any moments her son’s schooling did in fact do such a thing, after all the person who asked had a child under her care that was just fucking maimed so, small mercies. Surprisingly, it was Masaru who spoke up for the first time since he entered the meeting.

“I believe they did encourage his more… aggressive... ways. It was subtle at first glance but as he grew older I noticed that he stopped speaking about his schooling and instead focused only on himself. As if there was nothing else but his aptitude.” He said with a grimace.

Mitsuki looked appalled for a good second before something may have clicked. Wide eyes of disbelief followed shortly by a sigh of resignation. Eras watched it all, evaluating, analyzing. Once she determined that the parents were, disappointingly, unaware of their son’s habits, she spoke up.

“Muska had warned me before coming here that she believes Bakugo was conditioned into what he is now. Seeing your confirmation, sadly, only proves her right. I have a feeling that his previous schooling was sub par when it came to actively punishing or at least telling him no. This means that he doesn’t even realize that what he did was wrong.” Eras sighed, once again, as she thought about how much of a mess this all was.

“I agree,” Nedzu stated, he had his computer out and seemed to find something on it that prompted his involvement, “I pulled up his middle school records and some concerning things have been made apparent. His record is squeaky clean, even described as a pleasure to have in class and works well with others.”

A snort came from Aizawa who was still leaning against the wall, drawing attention to himself. He sighed as he realized that attention was now on him. Ah, what a mood.

“First day of school he called a student an ‘extra’. I sincerely doubt he was a pleasure in class. Also, considering during the exercise today he immediately left his partner to hunt down the glory for himself, I don’t believe he works well with others either.”

Dry sarcasm is the bane of Eras’s continued intimidation tactic. Seriously, if this man keeps up she may just actually snort. That would ruin the image she was trying to convey damnit.

The group of people sat in silence for a minute. Nedzu sat silently watching the group though, by his tail movement, Eras could tell he had settled on something already. Eras turned back towards All Might with an unimpressed face. Time to wrap this meeting up.

“I recommend giving Bakugo a second chance. Not suspension, but something else. Muska recommended therapy and I recommend anger management. Both may be the best option. As for All Might, I’ll let Aizawa-san rip into you himself regarding your, frankly, stupid idea to set teenagers with little to no training loose in a battle exercise.” Eras glanced at said gruff teacher who gave her a subtle nod and an impish grin. Satisfied that he would take care of it (and he will enjoy the hell out of it), she continued, “Now I will excuse myself to the infirmary once more. Hopefully, I don’t need to come back for a reason like this one again.” The ‘you won’t like what happens’ went unsaid but by the looks on their faces, it was understood.

Standing up, Eras walked over to the door and cracked it open, turning her head to Aizawa, she smiled a fanged smile.

“Keep me updated. I’ll trust your judgement for his punishment.”

With that, she left.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He was confused.

Scared.

Lost.

Constricted.

It's been years now hasn’t it? When was the last time he could control his own body? Could he even remember his name?

oboKurogiri

No that’s not it…

He was OboroKurogiri.

Why can't he remember???

An insistent pulling kept tugging at his mind. Trying to do… something, but he couldn’t for the life of him figure out what. Vaguely he knew that the pull came from something or someone else. Something unnatural was crying out in desperation and hurt. To find...what? What did he need to find?

Sighing, Kurogiri turned to Tomura. The young adult had been extraordinarily calm as he stared at the T.V. The game he was playing early was currently paused. As he continued to clean the bar’s glass, Kurogiri allowed himself to keep an eye on the man. The last time he was so still, his bar’s stools disintegrated.

“Kurogiri.”

Snapping to attention (he begs for his body to stay still, to run, to get away he doesn’t want to be here-) Kurogiri turns to the T.V that sat ominously in the bar.

“Yes, sir?” Kurogiri asked.

“Tomorrow morning, take Tomura to UA, the coordinates will be given in the morning. I think it's time we paid them a visit and gathered some material.”

Nodding his acceptance, Kurokumo can’t help but despair. He doesn’t know why. Can’t figure out who or what was at UA that he didn’t want to see. Or was the word he didn’t want to use harm? He really just couldn’t tell. He couldn’t tell and it tore him apart inside.

The metal on his neck burned, he wanted to rip it off. To be free.

Instead, he polished the glasses in the bar once more.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tags:

@baguettehead

[keepyourpantsongohan]

Voice of the Garden

The atmosphere felt like one of those ninja refuges you heard about in stories. (Konoha Hiden, Ch. 7) | Discord Spring Exchange for @ohayohimawari | AO3 | 

                                  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Tenzō is a very welcome eclipse, Kakashi decides, without opening his eyes.

The sunlight behind his eyelids isn’t totally gone, but he knows if he were to peer out at the world, he would find one tall, smiling man blocking out the sun's rays, smelling of honey, butter and wheat. 

“You made something,” Kakashi accuses blithely, opening one eye. “We said no work today.”

“We did,” Tenzō agrees, sitting down. Kakashi’s gaze follows him as he sets aside a covered tray. “But you set up a picnic, so I thought we were even.”

Kakashi shakes his head, poking Tenzō in the knee. “I laid all of this out yesterday.”

“That’s cheating,” says Tenzō, laughing. 

“Wasn’t your favourite phrase, ‘You can never be too cautious?’ Maybe I’ve finally taken your advice and prepared ahead of time.”

“It’s ‘knock on a stone bridge before crossing it,’” Tenzō corrects. 

“So, the same thing, but for old men.” Kakashi teases, eyes falling shut again. 

He feels Tenzō’s fingers touch his face, running gently from underneath his brow bone to the top of his cheek. Kakashi doesn’t have to look at him to know he’s pressing against the light lines in his skin. “I don’t see any young men around here.”

“That’s not nice,” Kakashi says, feigning offence in his voice. The ruse doesn’t quite reach his face. 

“You started it,” Tenzō points out without remorse. Still, the press of his lips to Kakashi’s temple is a pleasing balm. “Don’t you want to see what I made?” 

“Bread,” Kakashi observes, but he looks anyways. He takes the opportunity to stretch out on his side, joints popping in a way that does make him feel a little like an old man. “You smell like a bakery,” he adds.

For the first time that day, Kakashi takes a lingering glance at Tenzō. By his appearance, the bread only finished baking a short while ago. His sleeves are pushed up to the elbow, the neck of his shirt is tugged backward where an apron would be tied, and while there is no flour on his hands, there is the smallest hint of it clinging to a few strands of his hair. 

Besides that, Kakashi’s face isn’t alone in starting to show lines. Tenzō’s face has one or two creases on it himself. It amuses Kakashi to think they will be a matching set, making each other’s faces wrinkle more and more with each smile. He isn’t disappointed to see his partner doing just that. 

Tenzō chuckles. “I suppose it was a fool’s errand to try to surprise you.”

“I am surprised,” Kakashi concedes, tapping his fingers on Tenzō’s thigh. “I didn’t know the oven worked. I’ve been using katon to grill our fish.” 

The other man takes this admission in good humour. “I thought it had a strange aftertaste,” Tenzō quips. “The first thing they teach you about mokuton is not to eat food made with your own chakra.”

“When I asked you if you could fix the bed, you said the first thing they teach about mokuton is that you shouldn’t sleep on structures made of your own chakra,” Kakashi says, making a face at him. 

“You’re mistaken,” says Tenzō, lips twitching. “That’s the second thing.”

Clucking his tongue, Kakashi asks, “How do you keep track of all of these rules?”

“I keep a list.” Tenzō answers. His focus turns to the basket Kakashi has laid out at the head of their blanket. “May I?”

Kakashi gestures for him to go ahead. He hadn’t been joking when he said he had prepared in advance. The lid is flipped open, revealing a welcoming array of fruit, savoury pastries, pickled vegetables and whatever else he was able to gather. The attentiveness of the task doesn’t go unnoticed. 

“Some of this looks more elaborate than a usual picnic,” Tenzō remarks, nodding at a glass bottle, glinting gold. 

The bottle is tugged out of the spot where it has been nestled. Although Kakashi’s had it with him for some time now, it feels heavier in his hand today. The amber elixir is liquid gold in the sunlight. Tenzō’s eyes follow its twinkle curiously.

“Honey wine,” Kakashi tells him, passing it over. 

Tenzō’s expression shifts, examining the bottle carefully. “When did you find this? It’s rare, these days.” 

“When we passed through Sora-ku last month,” Kakashi says. 

Tenzō raises his eyebrows. “The Senju clan used to make this in the old days, you know. For special occasions.”

“I see you’ve been talking to Kurenai too.” Kakashi says. A slight warmth floods his face, and he changes tack. “It’s a beekeeper who makes it now. I met them in a bamboo grove.”

A bamboo grove filled with a genjutsu fog, he doesn’t add. Kakashi’s own surprise being kept is a thing of chance; both that he been fortunate enough to have known his own mind, and that the beekeeper seemed to have an affinity for Konoha shinobi. 

"I didn’t think there was much by way of people in that place,” admits the other man. “Other than the ones who stay with Sasuke’s cat friends. And I’m not sure that family isn’t half cat themselves. Was this beekeeper a shinobi?”

“Yes. I didn’t press, but it seemed clear to me that they had left their village.” 

A thoughtful nod follows this revelation, followed by a slowly spreading smile. “Leaving shinobi life to tend to bees,” Tenzō muses. “Now, there’s a thought.” 

“Thinking of a career change?” Kakashi asks, nudging his leg against Tenzō’s. 

There’s a brief scuffle between their lower limbs, with them tangled up in both each other and the blanket. It is only by luck that none of their food topples over. With Kakashi far closer to him than before, Tenzō replies, “As Rokudaime Hokage, wouldn’t it constitute treason for me to tell you about plans to abandon Konoha?”

“Maybe,” Kakashi agrees. “What kind of crime would it be if I decided to leave?”

“Dereliction of duty,” Tenzō decides. He says it with all the seriousness he can muster. “ANBU would follow in a matter of hours.”

Kakashi grins. He’d like to see any of the current ANBU recruits try to catch them. “We’d have to find somewhere very remote to live. One of Kiri’s islands?”

“That would make it hard for Gai to visit,” Tenzō points out, catching on to Kakashi’s game. “What about Kumo? It’s more than a stone’s throw from Konoha, but still attached to the mainland.” 

Cheerfully, Kakashi says, “I’m sure Killer Bee would let us stay with him until we found our footing,” At Tenzō’s look of alarm, he beams even wider. 

“Bees,” says Tenzō suddenly. “I wouldn’t be able to keep bees in Kumo. The climate is too hot for that. We’d have to go to Iwa.” 

It is far too easy for Kakashi to imagine Tenzō in a full body suit, with bees swirling around him. As it is, the ones in Konoha seem inordinately fond of him. “From what I could tell, Iwagakure is where the beekeeper came from in the first place. So maybe they’re looking for a new one.”

“And what would you do?”

Kakashi lets himself ponder on it. A jest comes to mind first, but he holds himself back. For several strange and delightful seconds, he imagines himself truly having found a life outside Konoha, with welcome company and without expectation. 

“Obito once asked me if I was planning to be a chef,” Kakashi says, an unexpected sincerity rising up. He reaches for Tenzō’s hand, finding distraction in the lines of his palm. “I could try that. We could grow some vegetables in our garden.”

Tenzō lets himself be explored. “I have always liked your cooking,” he replies gently. His tone turns playful. “How would we keep the people of Iwa from recognizing you? You’ve got quite the reputation.”

“I’ll wear a hat.”

A free hand reaches up to play with Kakashi’s hair. “Don’t you already have one of those?” Tenzō asks. “The public still knows you when you wear it.”

Kakashi hums, contemplating. “I’ll get a bigger hat.” 

The logic passes whatever metric Tenzō has decided to use, and he murmurs an agreement. His hand stays splayed at the base of Kakashi’s neck, “What if I don’t recognize you without the hair?”

Winking, Kakashi says, “I’ll take it off when I get home.”

It seems as though Tenzō has something to say to that, but any banter is cut short by a growl of his stomach. He sighs. “That’s enough roleplay for now. I think it’s time to eat.”

“That’s a shame,” Kakashi says, fingers at Tenzo’s waist. “The missing nin thing is kind of working for me.”

Tenzō doesn’t blush about these kind of things anymore, but he still laughs, his head ducking a little closer to the grass. “It’s things like this that make me worry I will one day have to testify against you.”

“They can’t do that, if you’re married,” Kakashi says lightly. 

“Is that what marriage would mean to you?” Tenzō teases, rolling onto his back. “Legal immunity?”

Kakashi plays at indignation. “You think so little of me. I would also be in it for the couple’s discounts.”

“My mistake,” Tenzō replies. He reaches for one of the apples Kakashi set in their picnic basket, rolling it between his hands instead of eating it. “Of course, it would be for legal and budgeting reasons. I should know better than to underestimate you after so many years.”

“You should really think better of your future spouse, Tenzō,” Kakashi says. The admonition has far too much sentimentality in it to land. “We might as well give the honey wine to Kurenai, if things are so rocky before the wedding.”

“So you do know what it’s for,” his companion notes. A pinkness spreads over his cheeks. “I wondered.”

“It’s important to become familiar with your village’s traditions.” Kakashi says, his throat much dryer than before.

“I thought we were going to be missing nin?” Despite his words, Tenzō’s heart is plain on his face. 

In response, Kakashi’s heart is even louder in his ears. He steadies it by leaning his head on Tenzō’s shoulder. “We can decide that after the wedding,” he compromises. 

“If you keep bringing up weddings, one day I’ll have to marry you,” Tenzō warns, humoured; heartfelt; happy. He feels the shoulder where his head rests shift, but it is only for Tenzō’s cheek to press against his hair.

“I’m free tomorrow,” Kakashi offers. 

“The licensing offices won’t be open for two more days,” is the reply. It is almost automatic; it takes a few seconds for Tenzō to catch up to their conversation, and when he does, he stills. The apple falls from his grasp. 

Kakashi takes the opportunity to say, “I could make next week work.” 

For a moment, they separate to look at each other. And then they both laugh, and keep laughing, until Tenzō does the sensible thing and finds a way to silence them both. 

Tenzō’s kiss knocks Kakashi into the ground in its enthusiasm. Kakashi’s answering movements are no more coordinated. He barely manages to take down his mask before his lips are covered again. Kakashi is no stranger to kissing Tenzō, but there is a novelty in this, kissing for this reason, intoxicated by their own contentment. 

They are grasping and grinning like they are somewhere far more private than a clearing with a sparse covering of trees. This time, they definitely knock something over, but they are much too busy to figure out what it is. 

The one thing that does have Kakashi reluctantly pulling away is when he senses a spike in his companion’s chakra, and feels the earth beneath him shift, grass and soil alike moving beneath his back. 

When Kakashi opens his eyes, he sees their clearing is not so empty anymore. Their new company is a field full of sunflowers, and the surprised look on Tenzō’s face tells him it hadn’t been intentional. 

“I’m going to take that as a maybe,” Kakashi tells him, warm and pleased. 

[elegiesforshiva]

Ghosts II: The Lacquered Gnat

Masterpost

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Ichiraku's looks both familiar and foreign to Sasuke.  All of Konoha did.  Everything is the same but …new.  

The paint on buildings is brighter, the structures more modern.  There is a lot of reasons why Sasuke had been hesitant to call Konoha his home for what was now the longer part of his life.  But this isn't a reason he anticipated.  Even Naruto has changed, hair shorter, shoulders broader.  His smile as he conversed with the ramen shop owner more gentle.  Still, this new Konoha wasn't necessarily alien. It was more like things have just been revamped.  Right?

So then where the hell is Sakura?

"Teme!"  Naruto's voice is deeper, more rough than he remembers.

"Dobe," Sasuke acknowledges with a nod of his head, and almost grimaces at the montone grain of his voice, dulled with his persistent silence over the years.  He takes a seat beside his old teammate on the small wooden stool and a hot bowl of ramen is placed in front of him before he even orders.

"Don't worry, it's on me," Naruto explains with a grin.  "It's so good to see you! I like the hair—all dark and mysterious.  Bet girls love it too." He nudges Sasuke suggestively, and Sasuke tries not to cringe.  Whether it be at the words themselves or the truth they hold, he's not sure yet. "You've no idea how excited I was when I got that letter from your hawk!"

"Where's Sakura?" Sasuke asks, utterly bewildered by her absence.  She's never late.

"Oh, she's at the hospital," Naruto winds a mouthful of noodles around his chopsticks, "She couldn't make it."

Something wound its way around Sasuke's heart, clenching the organ painfully and biting in with every beat.  He makes an effort to unclench his teeth to speak. "What do you mean she's at the hospital?  It's 7:30." The corner of his mouth twitches into a deep frown. "Didn't you tell her I would be here?"

Naruto swallows a bite of noodles with a wet slurp. "Well, yeah, but it's not like she can just leave whenever she wants to. She's an important medic, teme. She's one of the heads of the hospital now."

"It's Sakura," he says with a snort. "I sent that hawk two weeks ago, she should've been able to have someone cover for her."

"Listen, she'll see you next time.  Don't get your panties all in a bunch." Naruto stuffs his face with ramen, then proceeds to talk while he chews.  "So how were your travels?"  He swallows with a loud gulp.  "Kaka-sensei never gave me all the details.  Said some bull crap about 'confidentiality', as if I'm not about to be Hokage soon."  Naruto rolls his eyes at the mere memory.

But Sasuke wasn’t really paying attention, preoccupied with the uncoiling inside of him.  This isn't like her, she'd want to see him.  It's Sakura for gods sake.  Sure, it's been a couple of years, but she's still team 7.  She should be here, welcoming him home.  Maybe she is sick.   Maybe something happened.  But now Naruto is babbling again and Sasuke knows he's supposed to be put-together by now, so he tries to at least play the part.

"I've just been helping around.  Mostly in Kumo." He takes his first bite of ramen, and his stomach protests as he swallows. "Congratulations on your marriage, by the way."  Sasuke tries not to think of Sakura again.

"Yeah, what the hell! Why weren't you there, eh teme?" Naruto pokes his chopsticks into Sasuke's arm accusingly then. "What kind of guy doesn't even attend his own best friend's wedding?"

"I was busy." Sasuke pushes his arm away not-too-gently. "I'll go to the second one when she realizes what a mistake she's made marrying a dumbass like you."

"Pfft." Naruto slurps more ramen into his mouth. "Please! Hinata's crazy in love with me! I'll have you know we have a kid on the way!" Sasuke coughs, choking on the noodles sliding down his dry gullet.

"What!?" The shop owner's ears perk up. "That's wonderful! Congratulations, Naruto!"

Naruto smile is so bright he can light the whole town. "Haha thanks! I'm really excited!"

"That's horrifying." Sasuke says and swallows water, his brain irreparably rattled at this news.  Naruto?  Having a kid?  He’s not sure how he feels, or how to react and his head wires itself to the cynical default.  "I hope it takes after her more than it does you."

Naruto's face softens then, and a gentle smile crawls over. "Me too."

And Sasuke thinks he has never been more jealous of a smile in his life.

Two days later, Sasuke arrives at training grounds 6 with his usual long blade in tow.  He is surprised to see Naruto already stretching in the center of the mossy field.  It's expected for Naruto to show up a bit early for his ramen, but he's never been quite as enthusiastic as Sasuke when it came to training.

"Oh, hey teme," Naruto calls, reaching past the length of his leg.  "It's just gonna be us today. Sakura-chan said she'd be caught up in the hospital again."

Sasuke makes an effort to keep himself from scowling. "Whatever," he bites out, harsher than intended.

"I was kinda looking forward to watching her kick your ass, but guess I'm just gonna have to do it for her!" He chirps, jubilant as ever.

Sasuke scoffs, but doesn't bother to give a retort, preoccupied with Sakura's absence yet again.

"Let's keep it to taijutsu this time. Kaka-sensei yelled at me last time I wrecked a training ground."

Sasuke contemplates this for a moment.  He certainly was looking forward to holding the raw power of a chidori in his palm, but there was still something sweetly relieving about slamming his fist into a jaw.  Especially the dobe’s.  Sasuke nods in agreement, the chill of the afternoon creeping along his skin. "It'll probably keep you out of the hospital," He says, tactfully abstaining from sneering a bitter comment about Sakura already having her hands full.  He cracks his neck with a sharp tilt of his chin, then his knuckles with a biting pressure.  It’s relieving, despite what the stark sounds suggest.  But not relieving enough.

"Yeah, it won't keep you out though!" Naruto taunts, cerulean eyes gleaming.  He faces Sasuke's grim frown with bent knees and a confident smile. "You ready?"

Sasuke answers with a forward lunge.

A week later, Sasuke suggests another attempt for the former teammates to commemorate his homecoming and the three of them agree to meet up at a civilian bar for a few drinks at night.  Naruto proposes the location and Sasuke only agrees to it because he is sure Sakura won't get stuck in the hospital so late.

Sasuke is the first to arrive, and he isn’t sure if he is pleased or not at this realization.  Without waiting for the other two, he orders a drink that's much too strong for this occasion.  He compensates by taking measured a single measured sip, and revels in the slight burn of his throat as he swallows.

"Teme!" Naruto arrives a couple minutes later, taking a seat right by Sasuke. "Man, you wouldn't believe the shit pregnant women go through, Sasuke.  She's not even that far in and she's throwing up like crazy today.  I'm so glad I have a dick."  Naruto makes a gesture to the bartender eyeing him then. "Oi! I'll have whatever he's having."

Sasuke quirks an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be helping her then?"

Naruto shrugs. "I told her that but she kept saying she's fine.  You know how Hinata-chan is.  I don't think she'd let me cancel on you for her, she's too kind for her own good."  Naruto's face is as warm as honey.

"Sakura's not here," Sasuke's voice is heavy, but this time it's not with irritation.  He takes another calculating sip of his beer.

"What? Am I not good enough for you?" Naruto asks, an unsatisfied frown framing his face.

Sasuke frowns. "She's never late." Sasuke takes a full gulp then to soothe his nerves, and he's displeased to find it numbing his senses but not his thoughts.

"Don't worry, she'll come.  She's probably just stuck at the hospital.  She's always working all kinds of crazy hours."  A tall glass is placed before Naruto then, and he's too eager to take a fast gulp.  He nearly chokes, his hand smacking against his mouth as he swallows before coughing.  The bartender gives him a humored look, but Naruto's attention is focused solely on Sasuke. "Damn, teme! Fuck!" he rasps. "What is this? Vodka?"

Sasuke begins to feel a warming sensation in his body and he's urged on by the lightness of it, because thoughts of Sakura are making him feel so damn heavy.  He takes another gulp and Naruto watches him incredulously.  "Teme, you're not an alcoholic, are you?"  

Sasuke grunts. "No, you idiot."

"Good, cause baa-chan already got that title, and I don't know if I could handle two of you."

It was then that Sasuke's dull senses alerted him to a presence approaching them. A woman with short black hair invites herself onto a seat next to him and his frown grew impossibly deeper.  He runs his eyes over her form, sizing her up.  Her clothes are skimpy but Sasuke is not jarred by flesh no more than open wounds.  He's seen too much of both to be phased.  

"Well, if it isn't Naruto Uzumaki and the great Sasuke Uchiha." Her grin is sincere but her lips are too thin and her hair is too dark for her to have any appeal to him. "You two wouldn't mind if me and a few girls chatted for a bit, would you?  We've heard all sorts of stories about the shinobi war, but I'm sure it's nothing compared to hearing it from war heros themselves.  Think maybe you could show us some moves?"

Naruto is already frowning too. "Uh, actu-"

"Get lost," Sasuke cuts him off, abrasively dismissing their uninvited guest.

She chuckles, the boldness of her laugh grating at Sasuke's ears.  "Don't worry, I wasn't trying to tempt your friend into being unfaithful. The whole village knows about Hinata." She smiles then, and winks at him. "I was actually kind of more interested in you, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke-kun she said.  But her eyes aren't green and her hair isn't pink and Sasuke thinks he's actually going to be sick now.

His growl is demonic and it almost surprises even him. "If you don't leave in the next five seconds, I'll show this whole bar my techniques and you’ll be my live demonstration."

"Teme!" Naruto reprimands.

The woman's frown is twisted, more horrified than upset, eyes nearly bulging from their sockets.  Her lips part, no doubt to retort, but then they close.

“I’m sorry, don’t mind him,” Naruto says. “He just has this problem where his personality is shitty.”  Sasuke scoffs.

“I-it’s fine,” she stammers out.  She mumbles something that he can’t quite make out over the noise.  Then she's gone just as quickly as she came.  Sasuke turns his attention back to his drink and he lets the liquid scorch his insides.

"Teme, that was really harsh," Naruto reprimands with a disappointed frown. It stings him, but he won’t admit to that.

"I don’t give a damn," Sasuke growls. "What kind of moron picks people up by asking about the carnage of war?  Fucking idiot civilian."  His tongue is loose and he's painfully agitated and where the fuck is Sakura?

Naruto is silent for a while, before his voice calls out, soft.  “She doesn’t know,” He says.  “It’s not her fault.  Some things you just have to go through to understand.”    

Sasuke's gulps his liquor down and tries not to ruminate on that.

"Hey, teme, I think you should come over sometime." Naruto says then, and his sincere smile back, as if it was never disturbed to begin with. Sasuke wishes he could wipe away his foul mood that quick.  "I...I really want you to get to know Hinata better.  I think you'd like her."

Sasuke perches his sole arm on the counter and shifts his weight.  The room was spinning and he couldn’t tell if he likes this fact or not. "If she's anything like what I remember, I doubt it." He pauses, then eyes Naruto's newfound sneer.  "But if she's your family, then she's mine too."

Naruto blinks, dumbfounded, before a wide grin unravels onto his face.  And Sasuke is distantly aware of the fact that he feels pride in being the reason for that. "I think I need to get you drunk more often."

Sasuke snorts. "I'm not drunk."  The buzz in his body and the vibration in his temple say otherwise.

"You'll love Hinata-chan's cooking," Naruto gleams. "I always tell her she could be a professional chef if she wanted to, it's amazing!  When you come over, we'll whip something up with tomatoes in it too, it'll be great!"

Sasuke smirks at this, and the world seemed to slow down for a moment, watching Naruto take the first real gulp of his liquor. His eyes move back to the nearly empty glass in front of him, outlining the fractions of light—distorted and aimlessly scattered. He can feel the smile leave his lips as much as it does his chest.

"She's not coming."

There's a pause, and Naruto says nothing now, merely taking another sip of his liquor.

"She's avoiding me," Sasuke realizes aloud. "She doesn't want to see me."  Something is scraping across his insides, dragging all his organs through his body and misplacing them between his bones.

"Hey now, I'm sure it's just the hospital, teme." Naruto says without any real conviction.

Sasuke shuts his eyes and grasps his head.  He doesn't bother dignifying Naruto's shitty excuse with a response. "I should've known." His voice is hoarse and he knows it’s not because of the burn of the alcohol. "She never responded to my letter." Sasuke lifts his gaze back up, looking beyond into the nothingness as he feels knives carve into him. "She doesn't want anything to do with me anymore."

"You sent her a letter?" Naruto asks. "What the hell! You never sent me anything!"

"She seemed fine before I left, I don't understand." Sasuke groans, quiet and loud at once.

"No, it's nothing like that. Sakura's just really dedicated to her patients, that's all," Naruto says with a frown. "Besides, she's never really liked the bar scene anyway. I'm sure she'll come next time."

"Something’s going on.  And you don't want to tell me." Sasuke pierces Naruto with a bold gaze, pathetically haughty and indignant for someone who isn’t sure which set of blurred blue eyes to set his own on.  "What is it?"  He’s somehow sober enough to see the wobble in Naruto’s frown, the tremble of his eye.  Sasuke feels his mouth twitch, body heavy, stomach knotting into itself because it's true and he fucking knew it!  His hand clenches into a trembling fist.  His desperation is starting to show, but he's too drunk to care.  "Why doesn't she want to see me?  Is it because I left for so long?  Is it because I didn't bring her with me?  Is she upset with me?"

Naruto tactfully tears away from his gaze, and he palms his glass between his hands, but he doesn't drink more and Sasuke knows why.  "Teme, calm down. It's nothing like that, she's just busy.  She'll see you, don't worry."

"Bull shit."

Naruto only sighs and his lack of response feels a slow death.   Naruto never bull shits like this.  Sasuke visualizes himself picking the knives out of his own body.  But then they’re full length swords taking its place, expertly serrated with her absence and his longing for home.  Impulsively, he chugs the rest of his alcohol down in attempt to melt the metal cutting into him.

"Is she s-seeing someone? Is that it?" Naruto flinches.  Panic ransacks his brain open and his voice is the most miserable and desperate warble he’s ever heard.  He feels the pangs again.  He wants to take his kunai and jam it into his left wrist, but he doesn’t have a left wrist anymore so he settles for moaning to his best friend.  "Tell her I don't care.  She's team 7.  That's all that matters.  She doesn't need to be mine, s'okay, I just nee—"

Naruto's resolve seems to grow. "Calm down.  She's not dating anyone, geez."  Sasuke is scratching the countertop.  "You're being fucking weird, teme."

"I'm not being weird," he says defensively.  He tries to get a grip on himself but his head is clogged and his body is falling asleep on him and Sakura isn't there with them. "Juss want to make sure she's okay."

"She's fine.  You're overthinking this."

"Then why won't she come see me?  Does it have to do with you? Are you—" He tries to eye him accusingly.  Because a crush was never just a crush when they were little.  Not with Sakura.  Not with him.  Maybe... "Are you—you’re having an affair with her?"

There's a loud crack of glass as Naruto slams his liquor down. "For fuck's sake, teme!" The jinchūriki snaps his head to his left, pinning Sasuke with an indignant glare. "If you weren't drunk as hell right now, I'd beat the shit out of you for that." The blonde exhales his anguish and turns away.  And Sasuke feels a harrowing guilt.  "Just relax, okay?  She's busy, but she wants to see you, alright? It's Sakura.  She's just busy."

Sasuke's head is a tightly wound balloon that's just been pricked.  His stomach is eating itself.  The room is spinning and the noise is too loud.  "Where is she right now?  What's her address?  I'll jus' go to her."

"Sasuke, stop."

"Fine. I'll—I'll leave a note, I won' even visit—Please—I just—"

"Sasuke." Naruto grounds out. "She'll see you.  Okay? I’ll make sure.  Now cut it out, you're freaking me the hell out over here."

Sasuke feels like he's going to die, but he knows better than to keep running his mouth because now he might lose Naruto too and his family is gone all over again.  Then there's something rising up in his stomach and he's craning his neck towards the left of his bar stool to vomit.

"Ack! Teme!"

Sasuke feels more bile slime up his throat and now he really wishes this awful alcohol was venom instead.  Esophagus burning and fingers shaking, he hacks it up and out.

Naruto sighs. "Dammit." He can vaguely hear the bartender screeching at them.  "C'mon, let's get you home."