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historicfailure · 2 years

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The night of the release party is just getting started, but some revelations can't wait until the end of the night.

~ X ~

Hey there! So, so sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter out. Lots of stuff happened - I moved and needed to get my entire household in order - and I had lots of stuff to organize (sigh... adulting). I try to wrap this fic up in two more chapters as well, with one being an epilogue ^^ I think the two of them deserve their happy ending already, and I'm more than ready to write it for them.

Thank you all for your patience and your lovely comments! Again, so sorry for the delay and I try to get my shit together from here on out. I can't promise anything, though.

~ X ~

The night was as pleasant as an Autumn night could be. The night sky was free from any stars, the air fresh and definitely a bit colder than you anticipated, but that was alright. You wouldn’t spend much time outside anyway. You closed your eyes for a second, enjoying the night breeze as you stood right outside the door of your apartment complex. The small purse you used to contain all of your essentials was clutched in your hands, right up to the moment you heard Yamato step outside as well.

Your eyes fluttered open, and with a fluttering heart as well as a bright smile, you turned to him. At the sight of him, so unfamiliar yet well known, in his fancy suit, your heart jumped into your throat and you were so close to sigh dreamily out loud when he offered the crook of his arm to you with an old-fashioned gesture. It was a no-brainer to accept. With your hand slipping into the crook of his arm, you matched your steps with Yamato’s as he started to walk down the street.

“Aaah, couldn’t find a spot close by”, you grinned when he led you away from the street adherent to your building complex, down to the next street, where you already saw the roof of Yamato’s car when you turned the corner, “Sorry for that. I should have cleared mine so you could have parked nearby.”

“It’s no problem.” Car keys jangled and the lights of his car went off. “That way, I could walk a few steps.”

“Didn’t you already walk enough today? You know, when you’re working in a café?”

“I meant… Uhm… I meant I could get some fresh air?”

“Why does that sound like a question to me?”

“I don’t know.” Yamato sighed out. “I just… I don’t know. I think I’m nervous.”

While your banter carried on, you closed the distance to the car. Before you knew it, Yamato stepped forward and opened the door for you, complete with a flourishing gesture and a little mocking bow of his head.

“Nervous?” Snorting, you slipped into the seat, not forgetting to smile up to him in appreciation for his gesture. “You don’t seem like it.”

“Lots and lots of practice over the years.” With that said and checking if none of your dress would be caught, Yamato shut the door. The brief moment in which he walked around the car to reach his own seat, you hastily readjusted some strands falling out of your hair-do and cooled some of your suspiciously warm face with the palm of your hands.

Your hands quickly fell back into your lap as Yamato opened the other door and slid into the driver’s seat. “Alright,” he grunted as he adjusted his seat, “so, where is this elusive party exactly? Somewhere fancy, I hope.”

“Aaah, not exactly.” Rolling your eyes, you placed your cellphone with the address typed in into the holder glued to his front window. “See, Senju Publishing and Uchiha Press are still pissy at each other for the past grievances, so they had to settle with something less glamorous.”

“So… where are we going?”

“The Konoha Theater of Fire.”

Yamato sucked in a breath of air. “Ouch. Not what I expected for my first hot book release party between two hotshot publishing houses.”

“Believe me, it’s really as bad as it sounds.” Laughing, you shook your head. “The place was selected because none of the two houses ever hosted a release party there. I swear, they all act like little children.”

“And Kakashi?” Yamato started the car and pulled out of the spot. “Was he alright with that… downgrade?”

“To be honest, I think he’s so nervous he didn’t even realize that the theater is a downgrade. He’s just happy I’m not nagging him anymore about finishing up his book. Little does he know.”

“What?” Yamato sounded honestly concerned for his friend. Just the right edge of worry to make you want to tell him.

“No worries there. Tsunade wants to offer him a complete three-book-deal. With me,” you pointed with your thumb at yourself, “as his permanent commissioning editor. So, there will be lots and lots of nagging him in the future.”

At first, he didn’t say anything. Yamato was too busy taking the turn down left, which gave you time to admire the way his sleeve rode up his wrist, just an inch. But oh, what a delicious inch of skin. But just as fast as the moment appeared, it faded away and his little chuckle rising inside the car was maybe the sweetest thing you ever heard.

“Oh man, he will complain non-stop to me. And freeload off of me.”

“You’re way too good to him.”

“What can I say?” Yamato shrugged weakly, a smile splayed across his mouth. “He did a lot for me. It’s just fair that he gets some coffee and sandwiches from me in return. That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy some of his misery.”

Definitely a healthy approach to the entire relationship. Chuckling, you turned your head to look outside of the window. The nightlife of Konoha was on the rise, with the darkness being cut away by the streetlights. Lots of people were on the streets, walking and talking and laughing. You leaned your head against the cool glass, only to jerk away just a split second later. Right, you actually had some make-up on. No use to relax if part of the make-up would be stuck to Yamato’s car window.

“Something the matter?” he asked.

You shrugged. “Not much. I’m just… Seems unreal what happened.” A thought which had been constantly living in the back of your head for a few weeks, but not one you voiced out loud. Until now.

“How so?”

“I mean, you have to admit that all of this was pretty… crazy.” Gesturing between the two of you, you continued. “Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate it. Immensely so. But I have to ask again. Why did you offer to help me in that way back then?”

Yamato’s laughter rumbled through his chest. “I have a deja-vu. But yeah, it seems a bit crazy.”

“It’s just… If you really think about it. The entire thing, it’s just…” A helpless laugh of your own rose in your throat. “Like it’s straight out of a movie. I can’t even believe that this here right now is happening. That… that we’re here, on the way to a release party, that you’re here with little old me-!”

“It’s not just little old you,” Yamato gently interrupted, “it’s you. I’m here with you.”

“But I’m just-!”

“Not just. You’re you, and that is already more than I can handle. Sometimes,” even though his eyes were firmly set on the road, you just knew by the slight strain in his voice that he was blushing, “sometimes I think like that too… That you’re still here with just me. When you could clearly do so much better.”

You couldn’t believe it. Did Yamato really see you like that? Did he really think that lowly of himself? How could he not see that he was incredible?

Instead of spouting all of the truths about him out at once, you slowly nodded. “I see.”

But he wasn’t done, and as his voice filled the car, you felt how your face grew hotter and hotter with every finished sentence. “I think we’re both used to being the one pouring more into a bond than the other. It needs some time for us both to feel comfortable around each other in that regard. Maybe that is why it feels a bit like a movie, because we both never expected to ever feel this way.”

“So… you also feel like that.”

“Yeah.” The admission came out easy. It seemed like he wanted to say more, but the voice of the navigation system chimed in, reminding the man to take a turn to the left, and Yamato followed the direction. Only when the speed of the car picked up again, he spoke up once more. “And while we’re at it and before I lose my nerves… One reason I didn’t tell you until now why I helped you back then, is that I found you intensely, enormously, absolutely stunning. From the very second I saw you.”

“Even with my face blotchy and swollen from all the crying?”

“Even then. But no, even before that.”

Before. You hadn’t seen Yamato. Or you had seen him inside the club and just didn’t notice.

“You sat at the bar,” he added, “and you talked with Sasuke. You tried to genuinely joke with him, not for yourself and your own enjoyment, but to make him feel better. And gave him a good tip. Lots of people do that, of course. But you were probably one of the few who treated him like a decent human being, not like a piece of meat.”

“I mean, he’s basically a child? And how should I treat him then, if not like another human being?”

“You would be surprised how many people lose some of their inhibitions if they’re faced with a pretty guy, have a drink in front of them and the darkness of a club hides their features. The point is, you treated him nicely, which isn’t that common as it should be.” Yamato shrugged. “Let that be stated by someone who works in the service industry and has served hundreds and thousands of people.”

Like he wasn’t even aware of his own gesture, the hand not glued to the steering wheel slid over. Automatically, your own hand opened as his fingers slid into the spaces between yours, all rough and a bit scarred but yet so safe and warm your smile brightened in an instant at the touch.

Fuck, if holding hands with him already lightened up the night sky, what would a kiss do to you?

The rest of the car ride passed by silently. Only your hands stayed entangled for the entirety of it, never letting go and fingers sliding back and forth in weak, gentle motions. Motions which made your heart bloom and forced it up into your throat, choking you with all the emotions running through you. Only when Yamato pulled into a parking spot close to the Konoha Theater of Fire, he had to let go to shift the stick into Backwards and Park.

Apparently, you made some kind of sound you weren’t aware of. Yamato’s head turned towards you, a smile already crinkling the corners of his eyes.

“Something the matter?”

Glaring at him, you shook your head.

Another chuckle from him, and he opened his door to climb out of the car. “I’m back in a second. Don’t go.”

“I wouldn’t,” you mumbled, all alone in the safety of the car as Yamato walked around the back, “I would never run. Not from you.”

As the door swung open and you slid out of your seat, Yamato offered you his hand like it was self-evident he should do that. When you took the offered hand and his fingers closed around yours, you could feel your heart beat so loudly in your chest that it nearly threatened to burst through your ribcage. How one man alone could elicit such a reaction from you was simply incredible, but also an experience you didn’t want to miss.

Without a word needed, he started to lead you towards the entrance of the theater. Again, he parked a bit further away, and you couldn’t help but to see a pattern. Maybe he had another reason to go for the longer route of walking instead of choosing the closest parking spot possible.

As the lights of the entrance neared, another question rose in your mind, too important to just ignore. “And while we are being honest, how do you feel about tonight?”

“Huh?” Like a deer in the headlights, Yamato stopped. His shoulders drew upwards, just the tiniest bit, and his dark eyes fluttered to you like the mere question puzzled him.

But you simply smiled at the man. Then, when he still looked at you like you just fell out of the sky, you started to tug at his hand, trying to gently pull him into the earlier direction. “Well, I feel really good. It’s just… I’m here with someone I like a lot and celebrate a success at my workplace. This evening,” your fingers squeezed his, “is pretty much the best I had in a long while. Now, my question: How do you feel about tonight?”

You didn’t want to get your hopes up. Even before the entire ordeal, you never wanted to get your hopes up in that regard, but when Yamato paused once more to really think about his words, your heart paused as well.

“This evening,” he started, “today… today already started… Let me rephrase this.”

“Take your time. You have the entire evening for that.”

“But only a few moments of privacy, before we go in. And I want to answer your question. Honestly, I want to. There’s just… My tongue is all tied up, it seems.” The two of you stopped once more. The entrance to the theater was a little bit further away, street lamps illuminating the way, but where you stood with Yamato, the light didn’t quite reach you yet. Merciful darkness wrapped around you like a blanket, comforting and emboldening you with confidence. Plus, Yamato’s hand was still laying in yours. His fingers trembled the tiniest bit as he tried to find words which fit his current state.

His voice was silent, just barely loud enough to be heard over the sound of the voices nearby and the occasional car passing by. “I believe… I feel like my heart will burst out of my chest at any given minute. When you asked me to accompany you tonight, I was… really happy.” A helpless smile flashed through the dim light, just a quick peek of his teeth. “And when you opened the door earlier, I thought I died for a moment. You’re… you’re looking beautiful.”

Oh my. Not like this. Stepping closer, right until you were so near you were able to smell his cologne with every breath you took —spices and mint, combined in a truly addicting scent— you opened your mouth to explain. “I didn’t want to fish for compliments or anything. I just wanted to know if you were comfortable. With tonight. With this. With… us.” Your fingers around his hand twitched. “Because the last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable.”

“Same for me. Just the other way around.”

Both of you chuckled a bit at that. Then, just when the last bits of your own chuckle died down, Yamato cleared his throat. Your eyes locked, and for a perfect moment, you thought it would happen. It, that one thing you subconsciously dreamed about for such a long time now that it felt like an eternity.

But then, the moment was already gone, and his voice filled your ears in that special, hushed tone of his which made warmth bloom in your chest. “Don’t worry about fishing for compliments. You deserve each and every one of them. Tonight is your night and I’m glad to be able to be by your side.”

The smile following his clear and yet heartfelt statement was everything you ever needed. Unable to answer, you merely nodded. Nodded and broke eye contact, only to start walking again. Into the light of the next street lamp, pulling the man with you, all the while the warmth in your chest spread more and more into your other limbs.

His smile and overall cuteness melts my insides now. Great.

But you couldn’t really bring yourself to care much. Because you had the distinct feeling that Yamato felt the same.

His longer legs quickly adapted to your quick steps. Together, hand in hand, you walked towards the entrance. More people lingered ahead, lots of smokers standing around in small groups and talking among themselves. You were way too absorbed in the feeling of Yamato’s hand in yours to notice the people around you, but when the man beside you breathed harshly in, only to pull you gently to a stop, your little bubble popped.

“Kakashi?” Yamato asked, and that dropped the rose-tinted glasses hard enough to enter reality once more. “I thought you quit smoking?”

The other man obviously didn’t want to be seen. Strangely enough, when usually, Kakashi didn’t bother at all with hiding. He quickly dropped the cigarette and stepped on the stump, his motions all jerky and a bit uncoordinated.

“Maah,” he groaned and pulled the surgical mask back over his lower face, “Yamato. (Y/N). You’re already here.”

“Yes? Of course.” Squinting your eyes, you measured the man up and down. “Wait, why are you out here? Shouldn’t you be inside and shake hands with all the important people already?”

“Anko threw me out. I pissed her off by running around and asking dumb questions.” Just a few steps and Kakashi stepped into the light of the nearby street lamp. His loose tux looked good on him, the black shoes polished and shining in the dim light, the mop of silverish gray hair styled in a way which looked not styled at all. People would love Kakashi for his easy charisma and lax attitude, and anyone with a sex drive would love him even more than that. But —and you worked long enough with Kakashi by now— there was anxiety clearly standing in his eyes.

He was nervous. One look up to the crowded entrance area behind glass doors, showing off part of the atrium and many more people talking with each other, and a look back at Kakashi, and you understood. With a little sigh falling inaudibly from your lips, you let go of Yamato’s hand and turned towards your nervous author.

“Hey, we talked about this,” you took a tiny step closer to Kakashi, who looked at you like a sad puppy, “you will go in there, charm everyone around and read a little excerpt. Right?”

“...Right.”

“You don’t sound so convinced.”

“I am not.”

You dealt with your fair share of nervous authors in your work life, and Kakashi certainly wouldn’t be the last. Though, he was up until now the most important, so you had to get him back into the theater and talk and shake hands and most importantly, smile at all the publishing executives and the guests which would rip the book he wrote out of his pretty hands.

Calming Kakashi down was your most pressing task right now. With a quick apologetic smile in Yamato’s direction and a heavy heart, you turned towards the nervous Kakashi once more. “Okay, let’s calm down a bit first, alright? You need to breathe. And not some of that smoke, but some really fresh air. Let’s walk over to that spot for a minute, it seems to be a bit calmer over there.”

Fuck, what if Yamato was miffed you couldn’t give him your whole attention? Your heart lurched, only to sink faster than a stone in a calm lake. What if he didn’t like that you were busy with Kakashi? What if he didn’t like to be cast aside for your job and its responsibilities?

As you led Kakashi into a darker corner, away from the other smokers, Yamato followed. One look was exchanged, and the dark clouds over your mind disappeared. He understood, supported you even, just as much as he worried about Kakashi himself. You saw it in the way he patted Kakashi’s back, how he took the other side of the man, how he brushed the other’s suit jacket off to get rid of some non-existent dirt.

“Come on,” he reaffirmed to his friend, “Where is the senpai who can sweet talk me into feeding him for years without ever seeing any money from you, huh? You’re still owing me at least 500 bucks.”

“Might be able to pay you back…”

“Next week, yeah. That’s what you said last time too.” Yamato didn’t mean one word, just smiled and continued to fix Kakashi’s suit jacket. Without asking, he reached over to straighten out the loose hem of the white dress shirt and Kakashi let him, sighing and shaking his head like a broken puppet.

“Maah, you mother hen. Can’t even let me stew in my anxiety in peace.”

“Last time you smoked, you were close to throw away your academic career without a back-up plan or even an idea where you would get money to continue paying your rent on that little shithole of an apartment.”

“Hey,” Kakashi rolled his eyes in faux annoyance, “that was just the gas leak in my shit hole flat making me do this.”

“You’re so lucky you didn’t get blown up.”

“You call it luck, I call it destiny.”

“Seems like I’m not needed here”, you threw in with a laugh, before another round of teasing between the two of them could start. And to Kakashi, you said: “There’s nothing to be afraid of. All those people are interested in you and your book, your ideas and the future plans you have, if you’re interested. They all are already invested in you. They want to get to know the brain behind the writing and see what you’re capable of.”

“But what if…?”

“Yeah?”

“What if I’m not good enough?” The admission came so silently you doubted for a moment that you heard correctly, but then you met Yamato’s widened eyes and understood that, yes, this really happened.

Oh. Oh . So, that was what he was talking about when he spoke about Kakashi’s insecurities so long ago. Now, with all the social pressure of the release party coming up, it finally showed. This Kakashi was someone who could definitely understand. A human with worries and weaknesses, instead of the teasing asshole he could sometimes be.

You had to be careful here. This was a crucial moment for him as an author and for you as his editor. If you fucked this up, the relationship you built with him over the last months would be wasted. Worst case scenario would be that Kakashi had to start over with another agent, someone who wasn’t as familiar with his antics and his work.

Absolutely no pressure.

“Kakashi. Look at me.”

His dark eyes were downcasted, but he reacted to your words. Answering his look, you took one of his hands into yours, hopefully being able to convey what you wanted to. “I believe in you, Kakashi. And in your work. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here today. Your writing is incredible. It shows so much, paints wonderful pictures for the reader and lets them escape from reality for the time being. It’s a great talent to have. And I want the people to see what I can see.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” you squeezed his hand, “because what I see is a creative, passionate and caring mind who wants to share what he has to offer with others. And if that isn’t most admirable, then I don’t know what is.”

For a few moments, there was only the silence reigning between the three of you. Even Yamato seemed to hold his breath, waiting for his friend to answer. Eternities seemed to pass by, just until Kakashi nodded. A tiny, pitiful nod, but it was there. Relief washed over your mind in an instant. Situation cleared up.

A last reassurance in the form of a squeeze of your hand, then you let go. You could see Kakashi’s hidden smile in the wrinkled corners of his eyes as he straightened up, tugged his suit jacket back into position and let his neck crack the tiniest bit.

“Alright. Yeah, that’s… right. Thanks.”

You smiled back at him. “No problem at all.”

“Mhm…” A certain uneasy feeling clenched your stomach as Kakashi’s dark eyes roamed over you, then Yamato, only to jump back to you with a look you already had seen one too many times. “I’m almost tempted to ask you to accompany me tonight for more moral support, but seeing you’re here with my cute little kouhai…”

Instinctively, you stepped closer to Yamato. “Sorry Kakashi, but I wouldn’t ditch him for anyone else in the world. Better luck next time.”

His little snort and the appreciative glance weren’t missed by you. Again, you pressed yourself closer to Yamato and he offered his hand without even looking at you. Your hand slipped into his palm like it belonged there, and Kakashi also didn’t miss that little gesture. The wrinkles around his eyes deepened and that was enough for you.

“So,” with the traitorous warmth rising up into your face, you turned towards the entrance of the theater, “we probably should get going. It’s nearly time for the presentation. Really, you’re making me late, Kakashi.”

“All according to plan.”

“Really?”

“Maah,” Kakashi shrugged as Yamato’s annoyed glare hit him and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his dress pants, “I’m joking, of course. My freakout wasn’t a deliberate plan at all. Really, Tenzo? You think so lowly of me?”

“Not at all.” Though, and you were pretty sure only you noticed, his shoulders relaxed and the man straightened his posture out. “I just believe that sometimes, you’re a bit overly eager to meddle with my private life.”

“To me it seems like I don’t have to do anything anymore, though.” With that and without a trace of the earlier anxiety, Kakashi walked ahead, posture already as relaxed and slouched as usual. And yet, your perspective about him had changed once more. Behind his facades, he seemed to hide a lot of raw nerves and worries, so unlike his outer, nonchalant masks and layers. Something you hadn’t discovered over the last months, but were still happy to know now.

The two of you followed the man slowly, walking right towards the brightly lit entrance where people were waiting and talking. Again, your hand was safely secured in his, and with the little “hiccup” out of the way, the earlier contentment returned and spread into all of your limbs.

“Sorry,” Yamato leaned over to murmur into your ear, “for him. Sometimes the nerves get to him. His ego is usually too big to get so absorbed in it, but… yeah.”

“No worries. That’s my job. To take care of him when he’s feeling down. You have no idea how many late-night-calls I got because one of my authors freaked out.” There were no hard feelings, even though at that time, you weren’t all too happy about the disturbances. “In the end, I’m a moral support for all the writers I’m responsible for.”

A few more steps along the way passed by. The heels of your shoes clicked on the stoney path, intermingling with the voices of the other people. Kakashi was still ahead, but slowing down more and more before the entrance to greet the one or two lonely ladies waiting alongside the path.

“Does he ever have a girlfriend?” you asked Yamato. A question which always lived in the back of your brain, but one you also didn’t have the mind to ask until now. “I mean, he gets a lot of attention and always gets hit on, but he doesn’t really… go out?”

Yamato whistled lowly through his teeth. “Glad you missed his wild phase. Not one weekend could go by without him bringing home at least two different people.”

“Really? But that’s over.”

“Yeah, some time ago one of his other friends apparently struck gold in the girlfriend-department. And since then, I think Kakashi just doesn’t see the point of sleeping around wildly anymore?” He shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong, he’s still active, but toned it down a lot since then.”

“And there was never someone lasting a little bit longer than the others?”

“Nope. Always just one-night-stands. Nothing else.”

“Mhm.” Again, you looked at Kakashi’s back a few meters ahead. “It’s just… I mean, in his books… Sorry, but if a man can write such romantic scenes, then I’m definitely convinced that they believe in love. To hear that he isn’t that kind of guy… confuses me.”

Yamato’s heavy sigh let his fingers entangle tighter with yours. “I know, I know. I also think he wants to be in a relationship, but something is holding him back. He never told me if he doesn’t do long-term commitments or has other reasons. I just want him to be happy.”

And that sentiment was what made Yamato such a good friend. Not knowing how to answer, you merely let your shoulder bump into his arm and nothing else. You didn’t need to say or do more, as he understood and returned the touch just as tenderly as yours had been.

Entering the theater was easier than you anticipated. The people blocking the entrance let Kakashi pass through when they recognized him from the various posters with his counterfeit plastered across every available surface, and you could just follow in the wake he left behind. Inside, the noise levels rose significantly, voices reverberating in between the walls of the atrium. And for a short moment, you were able to just breathe. Breathe and take the situation in all its glory. The accumulation of your hard work over the last weeks, all pressed into the excited, interested, curious expressions of all the visitors around.

Yamato leaned down, whispering words into your hair. He was so close you could almost feel his words more against you than actually hear them. “Everything alright?”

“Couldn’t be better”, you whispered instantly back. And you were. Right here, right now, it felt so good to be in your own skin. And that was what changed significantly, you realized with crystal-clear clarity, your perspective of yourself. Nothing else but that. And all it took was a sad evening, followed by months of care, friendship and finding your own self-worth. Well, that and the caring and friendly man by your side.

16 notes · View notes

marvelmymarvel · 1 year

Text

I Hate Your Friends

Tenzo x Reader

Synopsis: Tenzo had decided long ago that he hated your friends as they always put negative thoughts in your head. But this time they had gone too far.

Naruto Masterlist: Here

Springtime was always your favorite season for many reasons. The weather was nicer and the people were happier, but your favorite part was the napping. You didn't know why, but taking a nap in the afternoon with open windows made you feel serene.

You were lucky that Tenzo felt the same.

The sound of a mother scolding her child in the market below your apartment woke you first, eyes opening slowly as you took in the afternoon glow of your room. The weather had gone from hot to cool within hours, but you weren't complaining. It gave you an excuse to cuddle deeper into his arm.

You let out a soft sigh as you tried to fall back asleep, but it was no use. More commotion from the market below floated through the air, making it difficult to fall asleep. Part of you envied Tenzo for being able to sleep through it, but on the other hand, it allowed you to admire him.

Pulling your face from his bicep, you let your eyes travel to where the tattoo resided. It was just red ink in a swirl shape, nothing special. But it meant more to you. Safety. Security. Home. Tenzo knew you loved it but didn't understand why, even though you've told him the reasons a million times before. He argued that the mask should bring you comfort, not the tattoo. And while he was right, he was wrong about one thing.

He'd remove the mask around you, but the tattoo - his strength - would remain. He would always protect you, keep you safe. Therefore, you loved the red ink more than you probably should. Your finger rose to the tattoo, eyes twinkling as you traced it repeatedly. You had become so entranced with it that you didn't even realize he had woken up. "Sometimes I wonder if you love that thing more than you love me."

You gasped, hand flying to your chest as you faked being hurt. "How dare you accuse me of such a thing!!" Tenzos lazy smirk made your heart skip a beat as he rubbed at his tired eyes, "I feel like you'd marry the tattoo but not me-"

"We both know that isn't true" Your whisper made him freeze, and he was thankful his hand covered most of his face. Meanwhile, you held your breath, waiting for him to acknowledge it. You had been with each other for years, and your friends were getting anxious that he had not once talked about marriage.

"I don't think he likes you, Y/n."

"Ya. Part of me is concerned that he's just using you!"

"You deserve better. You deserve someone who wants to marry you."

They were all cruel things to say, but you somewhat understood their point of view. What was taking him so long? Wasn't five years of dating long enough to begin discussing marriage? Your sigh seemed to jolt him from his shock as you exited the bed. Your face was full of pain and betrayal as if he had stabbed you in the heart.

"Y/n-"

"Are you not interested in marriage? Because if not, tell me. I can't keep listening to my friends go on and on about how they're married, and I'm not, despite us being together the longest of the bunch" Tenzo was feeling mixed emotions at your words. He was happy you were bringing it up, but he was sad you felt this way. He sat up in the bed to face you better. "Of course I'm interested in marriage-"

"Just not with me?"

Tenzo sighed, eyebrows crinkling together as he rubbed at his face in anger. Your friends were the worst, he had decided that long ago, but he hated them a little extra right now for putting these negative thoughts in your head. Real friends don't make you question things like this. Real friends reassure and point out instances that would counter those negative thoughts.

"Yes, with you. Why in the world would it not be with you?"

"I don't know, you seem pretty reluctant to me. Five years is a long time!"

"Y/n"

"I mean, come on. You could bring it up occasionally, make me feel wanted."

Tenzo's heart seemed to stop at your defeated tone. He let his eyes drift to the dresser. "Swear to God I'm going to kill your friends someday," he muttered as he moved from the bed to the dresser. You gasped at his statement, storming after him and angrily shouting for him to take back that statement. The drawer opened, and he rummaged through it. You didn't quite understand what he was doing, but the action made your anger disappear quickly—worries of him running away from you filling your body with an unbearable dread.

"Wait, wait, don't leave." Your fingers gripped him tightly, hands shaking as you realized that pushing him away wasn't the answer. Maybe he wasn't ready. Perhaps you had to be patient. From birth, he was trained to be a killer, a machine. He didn't know love when you met. You had to show him, teach him.

Marriage was a scary thing.

Tenzo let out a chuckle. Leave you? Why the hell would he do such a thing? He smiled when he finally managed to find what he was looking for. Pulling you off of him, he turned around to get a better look at you. Your eyes were wide with panic, and your lip was pulled between your teeth as you fought your gnawing anxiety. The sight was heartbreaking.

"I hate your friends."

They instilled this fear and doubt in your mind that he didn't love you and especially didn't want to marry you. They were lies. Tenzo nervously rubbed the box in his hand, and he suddenly grew shy. The blush started at his neck before it climbed to his cheeks. He has had this ring for three years now. He just never found the right time to ask you. Even now, it didn't feel like the right time to ask you. "Tenzo," your whisper was light and airy as you finally let your eyes drift to his fidgeting hands. He inhaled sharply as his gaze dropped to his hands, "I've, um, had this for a couple of years now. I just never found the right moment to ask"

He didn't look at you. Couldn't look at you. But he didn't miss the way your body relaxed in front of him. Shame started to eat you alive, hating that you listened to your friends about something they didn't know about. They didn't know the 3 AM talks when he'd get back from a mission, and he had to know how your day was. They didn't see how he held you close to help you fall asleep or how you rarely slept when he was gone. They never saw the loving gazes, heated kisses, and bone-crushing hugs.

They didn't know, but you did.

"I'm so sorry."

Tenzo sighed as you uttered those words. You didn't have to be sorry. In a way, your friends were right. He should have done this years ago. Silence fell between you both, and shameful tears fell down your face. After what you just did, you didn't think you even deserved to marry him. "Will you-"

"I don't know if I deserve you anymore."

He gripped the box at your words, fear shooting through him as you backed away. Your eyes were wide with panic, and only then did he notice you were crying. For every step you took away from him, he took two towards you. "Hey. Don't say that."

"I mean. I believed my friends over you. You deserve someone better. Someone more stable."

Tenzo shook his head at that as the grip on the box tightened, "I don't want anyone else, Y/n. I want you" he finally grabbed your wrist, stopping your retreat before you managed to run away from him. You didn't fight him off of you, you didn't have the energy to. He didn't know the right words even though Kakashi has coached him on this a million times, so he opted to place the box in your hand without another word.

You just stared at it. Not entirely processing that he was silently asking you to take it and be his forever. He let out a frustrated huff at your reluctance, this was not the perfect moment at all. But he needed you to know that he only wanted you, only needed you.

"Will you please marry me?"

Your e/c eyes flicked up to his dark ones. You should be happy. Should be overjoyed that you were getting what you wanted. But all you felt was sadness. "Tenzo I don't think-" His lips slammed against yours as he dragged you into his chest, tired of you acting like you weren't deserving of this. Like you weren't the most important thing to him.

The box fell from your fingers so you could grip onto him for support. His hold on you was tight as if you were going to float away if he wasn't careful. You pulled back for air, chest heaving as you tried to catch you breath "Tenzo-"

"The only word I want to hear from your mouth is 'yes'. Is that clear?"

Your eyes widened at the annoyance laced within his words. You knew he wasn't annoyed with you, he was just mad at your friends. You let out a sigh, mentally making a note to stop talking to your "friends" for their sake. Your eyes drifted to the box on the ground. It had opened upon impact with the floor and the ring laid haphazardly next to it. You smiled softly at it before dropping down to grab it, "Sorry I dropped it-"

"What did I say about saying anything other than-"

"Ya. Ya, I know. Sorry,'' you teased before standing up once more. Tenzo watched with bated breath as you examined the diamond in the afternoon sun. You slipped it onto your finger; it was beautiful and perfect. You took too long apparently as he pulled you to him, trying to encourage you to say that one word he wanted to hear. Your giggle filled the room as you rested your head on his chest, eyes watching dreamily as the light bounced off the diamond.

"Y/n"

"Yes, Tenzo. I'll marry you"

#tenzo imagine #tenzou imagine #yamato imagines #yamato imagine #yamato x reader #tenzo x reader #naruto imagine #naruto imagines #naruto x reader

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pfft-yikes · 4 years

Note

hiii I rly love your writing like it’s rly good so can I request a fluffy head cannon with shino and Yamato 🥺❤️ please and thank you and please keep writing ur one of my favorites

I'm a favorite? T-Thank you..^^｡*♡

Fluff..I'll try my best! I'm so used to writing horny headcanons asdfghjkl

Shino: Fluff!

As previously mentioned, Shino gets interrupted a lot; but he doesn't worry about that with you

You like to hear what he has to say, so when you two got closer, he had a hard time continuing conversations with you

He always expected you to stop him, so he just sat there, being quiet

Now you actively lay on the floor playing with bugs and asking him weird things just to hear what he answers with

Has funny responses but doesn't realize it: he's so blunt about things ajdkdkddj

He wears lip balm; no one knows this though

Shino was really apprehensive about having his bugs around you at first

He thought that you might be afraid, or grossed out

HOWEVER, he changed his mind;

One day, you were just hanging out, and all of a sudden you saw one of his bugs come out from under his glasses

He panicked on the inside

You looked at him

He nervously looked at you

And you said probably the dumbest fucking thing in the world:

"Shino, is he okay? Wait, I can't just assume gender- excuse me little bug, were you suffocating in there?"

It was a done deal after that.

Now you try giving them names and honestly Shino doesn't know what to do about it

He thinks it's cute though ♪

When you walk around together you just hold his jacket

But when you get home, napping on top of him is a must

He likes feeling you breathe, reminds him how simple people really are

One time you asked Shino if you could hug him and was like

??? Yes??

So you went in for it right

And he just stood there, waiting

But here's the thing, Bug Bae be kinda täll

So you grabbed his hands and placed them around your waist, and wrapped your arms around his neck-

And jumped so you could wrap your legs around him.

I swear to gOd, sweet baby was so hAPPY, BUT HIS HEART NEAR FLEW OUTTA HIS CHEST

That's one of his favorite memories, even now

Yamato: Fluff!

Sometimes Yamato does this thing where he gets so stressed that he'll start talking about something, and then completely lose track of what he was saying and forget his next sentence

Gets embarrassed really easily, so he's fun to tease

Drunk Yamato is definitely an experience

Like I mean

You gotta make sure you're outside or sum, Jesus Christ

He started throwing out wobbly wood style in a restaurant the first time he ever drank with friends

But when he's happy and drunk, he'll start growing flowers and it's ADORABLE

He doesn't even know he does it tbh

Yamato really likes to cuddle but he won't ask for it

So when you first started doing cute things together, he really wanted to but couldn't bring himself to ask

Like he kept diverting the conversation from saying what he really wanted, it was cute LOL

You helped him out by saying it first and bOY DID HE SCOOP YOU UP

Now it's just one of those things where you go "hold me" and he gladly stops what he's doing, just to cuddle or spoon you

Wake him up with lots of kisses all over his face

He'll be in a good mood for the rest of the day

He snores in his sleep when he's really tired

Loves to do little things for you, like bring home flowers and trinkets from when he goes on missions

Low-key likes brushing your hair uwu

He loves looking at your eyes, but gets embarrassed about it

Overall, he's a lot more romantic than he himself and others think

Kakashi and Naruto keep complaining to you that he simply will not shut up about you

They asked you to do something about it

So you made it worse ✨

"Yamato?"

"Yes?"

"Can..C-Can I call you honey sometimes?"

*ASDFGHJKL*

"S-Sure- I-I mean, of course you can!"

Some say you can still hear Naruto and Kakashi's irritated yells to this day

Sorry I took so

Fucking long

Fall semester just started for me this Monday; music business shows no mercy ✌🏼😔

LOOK AT MY BOYS GETTING LOVE, UGH YES PLS

Anyway, hope you enjoyed!! I'll be posting my next request soon

(꒪꒳꒪)

#headcanon #headcanons #shino aburame headcanon #shino headcanons #shino x reader #shino aburame x reader #shino aburame #yamato x reader #yamato headcanon #yamato tenzo #yamato #tenzo headcanons #tenzou x reader #tenzou #tenzo x reader

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kakakakashi · 4 years

Note

could you do HCS of Yamato, kakashi, and iruka walking in on their s/o masturbating after a long mission? 👉👈

YES! Fam, you are speaking my language. This is probably one of my favorite requests I’ve gotten. I love this shit. Ugh. I am eating ice cream out of the carton while writing this, and I am living my life. Anyway, I’m not sure if you mean after you’ve had a long mission or after they’ve had a long mission, so I’m gonna do a bit of both.

*NSFW under the cut*

Yamato

You just get back from a mission

Ugh, I have been feeling Yama lately. I’m soft for him.

Also, whore knee.

Anyway, Yams knew you were coming back that day.

You told him that you’d find him once you were back, and you’d go for some dipping noodles to celebrate, even though it was just a simple escort mission.

However, he got excited when he saw your teammates in the village.

So, he decided to meet you at your place. You probably wanted to clean up before you saw him.

Although, you did want to clean up, you were also so tightly wound you could scream. You didn’t want to seem desperate when you saw Yamato later, so you figured you’d have some alone time to keep your desires under control.

When Yamato entered your place, he didn’t find you at first, but he did notice a trail of your clothes leading to your room.

Yam smirks to himself because he knows the feeling of wanting nothing more than a nice shower after getting home.

So, naturally, he decides to wait for you on your bed, and hopefully, he’ll get to spook you a little.

But as he gets closer, picking up your clothes for you along the way, he hears a moan from your room.

He approaches your door and peeks through the crack to find you writhing on your bed, gripping onto your pillow while you work yourself with your favorite vibrator.

You told him it’s your favorite because it’s shaped similarly to him, and you use it when he’s away.

He feels his dick jump at the sight of you panting and moaning, and he feels bad for watching you, but he can’t take his eyes away from you.

You still haven’t noticed him either. Your eyes are closed, and you’re more focused on the fantasy you’re apparently really into.

Meanwhile, Yamato is blushing and trying to ignore his throbbing erection.

“Ah! Yes, captain! Fuck!”

And Yamato grunts under his breath, his cock twitching in his pants.

You’re thinking about him while pleasuring yourself, and he can’t take it.

He freezes when your eyes open and your head turns towards him, obviously visible through the gap in your door.

“Sorry! I’m so sorry, Y/N. I’m gonna go. I–”

“Please don’t go! I need you!”

You sound so desperate, and he can’t take it.

He gently pushes open the door, motioning to your clothes while explaining that he picked them up for you.

You appreciate the gesture, but you couldn’t care less at the moment.

You tell Yamato to get undressed and start touching himself.

He starts jerking off while he watches you fuck yourself with the vibrator.

You can tell he’s getting impatient, and you finally tell him, “Get over here.”

He listens and takes the vibrator out of you so he can fuck you properly.

You guys don’t end up going out.

Kakashi

The fucking asshole.

He smells you the second he walks in the door.

He’s tired and a bit sore because he just got back from his mission with Team 7, but he perks up.

He silently sneaks up on you in your room, your fingers pumping in and out of yourself while you’re pinching your nipples.

Your eyes are closed, and your head is thrown pack while you’re panting raggedly.

Kakashi is fucking mesmerized.

He can tell you’ve still got a ways to go before you’re gonna cum, so he starts palming his half hard dick through his pants.

He pulls himself out of his pants, takes off his glove, licks his palm, and starts stroking himself in time with your fingers, watching your every movement.

Your back arches when you find that special spot inside you, and his dick jumps in his grip, remembering how you clench around him whenever he’s in the place of your fingers.

“Oh! Kakashi! Yes, right there!”

He bites his lip to keep himself from groaning out, and he’s getting close.

His hips are jerking into his hand, and he’s trying to keep himself under control.

He’s definitely not gonna last long.

He hasn’t cum in a while because of the mission, and it turns him on to no end that he’s watching you in such a compromised position while you’ve got no idea.

God, he really is a pervert, but you know he is.

Also, lbr, you like it.

If you don’t, I do, so I’ll take him.

Anyway, he’s starting to get close, and you’re gradually climbing towards your high.

You insert a third finger while you keep going.

Kakashi can hear the slick squelching of your fingers while you pump them inside yourself.

He really takes you in, your flushed skin in your vulnerable position with your legs spread while you think about him fucking you.

Your other hand threads through your hair to yank at it the way Kakashi does.

The mewl you let out is all it takes for Kakashi to spill himself into his hand, a strangled groan leaving his lips while ropes of his sticky, white release paint the fabric of his uniform.

The noise has you whipping your attention to the door where Kakashi is riding out his high, squirting all over himself while his hand milks himself dry.

The sight of him pink and panting while his eyes roll back in pleasure and his cum all over himself has you so close.

Your other hand moves to circle your clit rapidly until you’re clenching around your fingers and crying out, your hips twitching in a manner similar to Kakashi’s.

You both ride out your highs and relax when you come down.

“So, how long have you been standing there watching me, you perv?”

Kakashi just laughs before he stumbles into the room and onto the bed while peeling off his clothes, kissing you, and climbing on top of you for another round.

Iruka

Mr. Sunshine is such a sweetheart.

You got home from your mission while he was still at school.

You knew that if you wanted to cum, you’d have to do it yourself because Iruka was busy with his students.

You’re totally fine with it too, but you aren’t about to wait for him because you just need SOMETHING!

Your team had irritated you to no end, and only after you had left, you realized that you and Iruka hadn’t had any alone time for a while.

Now, you were so wound up, you needed something.

Tbh, the second you lock your door behind you, your hand is in your pants.

You collapse on your bed, and try to work yourself up, but it’s not working. For some reason, your body just isn’t getting there.

You whine out in frustration, taking off all your clothes and trying a different position.

You’re still not getting there.

And you scream into a pillow.

You just need to cum, though, so you decide to use your trusty friend, your shower head.

So, you start running the water, and getting ready for a shower. After all, you did need it after your mission.

You were going to shower after you got off, but things didn’t go as planned, so now you’re leaning against the wall and moaning out while thinking about Iruka’s mouth on you.

Just a few seconds after you moan, the door opens, and Iruka’s eyes go wide.

His entire face is bright red, and he just freezes.

You’re shocked for a moment, but when you realize it’s Iruka, you keep going, putting on a show for him.

Nosebleed.

Tbh, he’d probably pass out, but let’s just say he doesn’t for the sake of it.

Plus, shower sex with Iruka

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGHHHHHHH!

Okay, so he walks in, and freezes.

And you keep going.

And he’s about to leave, but you tell him to watch you.

And you finally, FINALLY cum with the water, legs trembling while you ride out your high.

“You enjoy the show, darling?”

Iruka just nods at you.

“Care to join me?”

Iruka’s joining you in the shower.

Again, shower sex with Iruka. UGH!

#naruto imagines #yamato x reader #tenzou x reader #kakashi x reader #iruka x reader #cherry has ideas sometimes #hi. i’m cherry queen of the sin bin.#Anonymous #100 #cherry posts about ninja nerds #200

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yeselbeethings · 4 years

Text

moments from the village

pairing: yamato x reader

a/n: hmm, kind of free form... like it’s a reader insert but there’s bits filled in that are just generic to the idea of a character. Also the first thing I’ve written in like a thousand years..

synopsis: a few tender moments, scenes from your relationship with Yamato

warnings: nsfw content for the last few: general sex, fingering, oral, rough sex.

1. Yamato drinks genmaicha tea almost exclusively. The first thing he does when he comes home is make a steaming pot, and sit the well-worn armchair that occupies the corner of your living room and sips it slowly. He loves the nutty taste of toasted rice against the grassy earthy taste of the green tea. When it’s hot, you make him genmaicha lattes. Over brewing the tea and mixing it with brown rice syrup to sweeten it. You serve the drink over ice.

2. Yamato’s favourite desert is matcha cake. You roll a thin, rectangle of bright green sponge cake with lashings of sweetened whipped cream in the middle, slicing thick chunks and topping them with the first of the season’s strawberries. You meet him at the banks of the Naka river with the slices stored safely in a bag. You both kick of your shinobi sandals, tossing them behind you and dipping your toes into the cold water. You can’t think of anything more Yamato than the mixture of earthiness and sweetness.

3. For Yamato days off are reserved for reading architecture books. Yamato pours over each book in his collection, absorbing all the knowledge he can. His current obsession is shoin-zukuri. For his birthday, you buy him an expensive architecture model kit. He painstakingly completes it, gluing the delicate wooden pieces together over the next few nights. The model of the local temple lives on your shelving unit in the living room, sitting proudly next to the string-of-pearls you’d purchased from the Yamanaka’s flower store the day you moved in.

4. You always thought you disliked Kakashi Hatake. You’d never really spent much time with him, never been on missions together, and didn’t really understand who thought it was a good idea to place him in charge of a team of rookies. The dislike deepened once you and Yamato began dating; the constant stories of his teasing and cajoling your boyfriend bothered you. The first time you met properly, that all changed. Drinking beers and sharing steamed and salted edamame, you found yourself thinking that Kakashi had a wicked sense of humour, and silently thanked him for giving you new ammunition to rile Yamato up with. Yamato loves your friendship, but hates being the subject of your evenings jokes. You and the copy-nin become quite the double act and it makes Yamato’s heart soar.

5. The first time you meet Team 7, Yamato is overwhelmed - trying to keep the three teens in check, dodging their constant questions, the fighting, and the vying for your attention; the whole situation is an unmitigated disaster. You and Kakashi stay on your best behaviour, but share a look that screams - Can we please just get a beer after this? You both do this every day?! - You send an apologetic look in Yamato’s direction, you hadn’t thought that stopping to say hello as you passed them coming from the training grounds would cause such a commotion. Later, as you walk home from the bar you tell Yamato that you enjoyed the impromptu meeting in the end, that they’re his little family now, and how the whole thing had reminded you of when you were younger and you and your cousins would fight endlessly over any trivial thing. Yamato had never though this what having a family would be like, and he wonders to himself when those kids became so so important to him; deep in the pit of his stomach, he feels the ache of worry grow as he wishes that nothing tragic would happen to them.

6. Whenever Yamato catches you laughing with Genma his chest constricts. You laugh heartily at the tokubetsu jounin’s terrible jokes and, as always, engage in the friendly flirting that characterises your friendship. Yamato knows you’ve know each other for years, that there’s nothing more there than two comfortable friends. The part of him that recedes back into ROOT in times of panic tells him that you’d be better off with a man who’s name refers to natural alluring and dazzling lights. Genma asks you how things are with Yamato if you’re off the market for good? He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively and glances over your shoulder. You follow his gaze, eyes landing on Yamato - who seems to have glazed over during a conversation with Ebisu. You look at your boyfriend and smile, catching his eye and whispering to Genma - oh yeah, this one’s a keeper. In the dead of the night, Yamato asks if he makes you happy and you tell him your world is full of harmony now. That you feel serene. Yamato’s heart feels as though it could burst from his chest.

7. Yamato has a bad habit of shouting at you when you hurt yourself absentmindedly. The first time it happens you’re not paying attention when slicing green onions for dinner. He snaps at you to run it under the cold tap and gets the small first aid box you keep in the kitchen. You snap back at him at first, you’re a kunoichi, you know what you’re doing with knives, this isn’t even serious, why are you being like this? Over time you realise it’s because he feels helpless when you injure yourself at home, it’s different to missions - home is where you’re safe. You stop snapping back, and he continues to treat your small cuts with disinfectant wipes and plasters. Sometimes you forget they’re there and feel a blush rising when Iruka mentions it when you pick up your assignments at the mission desk.

8. Yamato is old fashioned. He learnt so much of how to treat a partner from hearing what the older married ANBU used to talk about. He pours your drinks, pay for meals, offers you an arm to link when you walk, and kisses you chastely when in public. This has earned him a reputation for being shy, you know he is anything but.

9. You both spend your free time pouring over recipe books and buying second-hand cookbooks when you have downtime after long missions both in Konoha and other villages. You cook as much as you can and prepare meals together. The first time Team 7 comes to your tiny apartment, Sai and Sakura watch you both laugh and talk about anything and everything as you prepare a meal for everyone; soy milk ramen. You both drink wine and chop and stir and forget you even have guests, it’s only Naruto’s hungry grumbling that snaps you back into reality

10. You introduce him to your grandmother - the only living relative you have now - she tells him that he’s very handsome and he blushes all the way to the tips of his ears. Later she asks what he does and he tells her that he’s a jounin sensei. She eyes him with suspicion, making an off-handed comment about how in her day jounin sensei’s didn’t carry themselves so seriously, have such an intimidating posture or analyse every exit and escape route when they came for tea with old ladies. Later she corners you in the kitchen as you prepare desert, and she asks you what he really does, you whisper ANBU in her ear and she tells him over matcha cake that she’s glad you’ve found someone who will always protect you. Sometimes they play cards when you’re out of the village on missions, your grandmother chain smokes cigarettes and tells Yamato of the fights she had when she was an active kunoichi. Yamato knows she would kill him if he ever hurt you. He knows it would never come to that but loves the fire and passion running through her and how it’s been passed on to you. When she starts to forget herself, and slowly you, Yamato holds your hand in her tiny kitchen as tears roll down your face. In the night he weeps silently for her too. When she dies, she leaves all her ninja tools to Yamato, and her old engagement ring.

11. When you have sex, he sits cross-legged, your tights draped over his and your feet nestled into his hip creases. You lay the rest of yourself flat against the large bed you share, and he gently coaxes you to orgasm. He spreads you apart, and uses his thumbs interchangeably to rub your clit; up and down, or in soft circles, different speeds, and pressures. Sometimes he slips a finger inside you, stretching you gently and curling up inside you to pull you closer and closer to the edge. He uses his forearms to keep your legs pushed apart as they draw closer and closer in as you feel yourself slowly tipping over the edge. After your orgasm, he spends time rubbing down your shaking thighs and placing delicate kisses on your legs. He never rushes you to move, he never takes his eyes from your flushed face.

12. When you fuck, your legs are over his shoulders and his hands pinch your nipples. He drives into you and moans loudly. It is fast, and deep, and hard.

13. Sometimes you convince him to put on his old ANBU uniform. When he fucks you like this, he stands behind you and knocks your legs wide. One hand keeping you stead as he pushes you forward ruthlessly with the force of his trusts, the other hand wraps around your neck. Your hand claws over his gloved wrist, pushing his hand into you as you revel in the feeling of Cat choking you.

#yamato tenzo #yamato #yamato headcanons #naruto #naruto headcanons #naruto imagines #yamato x reader #reader insert #naruto shippuden #captain yamato #tenzou x reader #yamato tenzou #tenzo x reader

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ninja-scenarios · 6 years

Text

Kakashi, Yamato/Tenzou reacting to their s/o returning from a long mission

Someone asked: “Yo I love reading your stuff can I ask for either a hc or small scenario of tenzou/kakashi/shino being woken up in the middle of the night by their s/o coming home from a mission? Exhausted and or maybe injured? Feel free to do whatever I love you you're amazing”

Thank you so much, I´m flattered! :) I wrote a scenario for Kakashi and Yamato, I hope that´s enough! :`) Have a good day!

Support me on Ko-fi | Masterlist

Yamato / Tenzou:

For the umpteenth time that night Yamato tossed and turned around under the sheets. A sigh left the tired Ninja and with a gloomy gaze he eyed the empty pillow on the right. In spite of being a trained Anbu and having almost lost his life more than once, it was even more embarrassing to admit that Yamato couldn´t sleep without his partner.

All it took was your absence for a few days, then the house turned into a ghost place. The few attempts on making as much noise as possible to drive out the mere suffocating silence did nothing much. Even when Yamato accidentally knocked over a pile of dinner plates in the kitchen, the emptiness of the place was practically tangible, like an invisible layer of dust coating every space in the house.

Just when Yamato felt like his heart would burst with longing, there was the familiar sound of the door being opened. Relief washed over the man like someone had poured a bucket of water over his head. Almost like an excited puppy, the ex-Anbu welcomed his partner into his arms after a passionate kiss.

“Tenzou, you look awful, what happened? I wasn´t even gone for that long!” The man could only blush at these words and give in to a shy smile. “I know, I know.” A yawn made his statement partially unlikely. “But I´m so happy you´re here.”

Kakashi:

The white haired man was quietly snoring on the couch, when he was awoke by a loud bang. The book he´d been reading slid from his grasp and fell, yet when it hit the ground Kakashi was already at the door to let in the other person.

“What happened?” His sudden sternness didn´t upset you, it was impossible to focus on anything when you felt like there was a hole in your stomach. “K-kabuto…” Kakashi´s face darkened, yet he wasted no time and expected the wound after you collapsed against him. In this state you didn´t even remember the way back, just that you had started the mission in a team and had come back on your own.

“Where are they? Kakashi, do you know where they are? Maybe they already returned before me…” The skilled ninja ignored your delirious mumbling and suddenly scooped you up into his arms. “We don´t have time, I´ll bring you straight to Tsunade.” His caring words hit you right in your heart. Even though Kakashi was a man who wasn´t shy to admit his feelings, there was always a hard, hidden core which you wished to see so desperately. In a way, Kakashi always shielded himself from everyone and even though it was the fourth year of your relationship, you had never been allowed access to his truest, rawest feelings.

It was something that always left you feeling insecure and worried, yet no one came without flaws. And Kakashi had quite a few. Yet, here in his arms, being his top priority as he used his chakra to get medical help as soon as possible made you feel so, so warm. Soon, you arrived at the Sannin´s house and a tired but not complaining Tsunade leaned over your form.

The glowing green light instantly relieved some of the pain and you smiled up at your boyfriend to reassure him, as if you were the only two people in the room. Suddenly, he fell to his knees, eyes tearing up as he cried upon seeing your face.

You were like frozen, staring as you saw Kakashi´s crying face for the first time. “I´m so glad you´re here. Fuck, if I´d known the mission was that dangerous… I´m honestly not sure what I would do without you.”

With a smile you cradled his cheek, feeling the wet tears under your palm. There it was, his core. Soft and vulnerable and emotional. And you were the one who got to see it.

#kakashi #kakashi x reader #kakashi hatake x reader #kakashi imagine #kakashi scenario #kakashi headcanon #kakashi hatake headcanon #yamato x reader #yamato imagine #tenzou x reader #yamato scenario #yamato headcanon #naruto imagines #writing #writer #kakashi fanfiction

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inside-mychest · 3 years

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chanfictions · 2 years

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kakashi + yamato (if u write for him) (seperate) with the ‘there was only one bed’ trope? 😳

Okay, okay. I know this was supposed to be a request for the one bed trope, but before I knew what happened, I had engineered a scenario, and getting there required plot, and that spawned a whole fricken story, which then led to me getting incredibly carried away… I don't know what happened. There is a single bed buried in here somewhere, though I think I am now far more than two feet to the left of your ask, so I apologize for that. I'm still attaching this story to your request even though it isn't the smut you asked for since it was this prompt that set the whole picture in motion.

Edited to add: big thanks to @lemony-snickers for beta-reading for me when my brain was too cooked to edit without a second set of eyes. I was so tired when I posted this that my dumb self forgot to add this bit.

Masquerade

Yamato x Reader

After a hastily assigned mission takes an unexpected turn, you and Captain Yamato finally find the time to address the long-standing elephant in the room.

11k

"You summoned me, sir?" Peering into the large, open office, you scanned the room for a moment, waiting for acknowledgement before setting foot in the domain of the leader of your village. From your vantage point in the doorway, he was nowhere to be seen, though you heard quiet rumblings that abruptly hushed upon the announcement of your arrival. Another figure stood in front of the desk, their back turned to you, blocking your view of the Hokage's chair. Heat crept into your cheeks, as you immediately recognized them from behind. Yamato.

"Yes, please come in," Kakashi spoke coolly, clearing his throat as he glanced around the obstruction to wave you in.

Straightening yourself and willing your face to cool behind the cover of your anbu mask, you confidently strode toward him, taking your place beside Yamato with your eyes trained firmly forward. It felt as though the pictures of Hokages past hanging on the walls were staring through your soul and reading your mind. "What can I do for you, Lord Sixth?"

Suppressing his urge to ask you not to call him that, Kakashi took a breath and exhaled before speaking again. "I was just beginning to tell Captain Yamato that I have a special mission that I need to assign somewhat urgently, and I think the two of you will be perfectly suited for it," he explained, placing his hands on two files at the edge of his desk.

"What's the assignment?"

"This is a… rather unique operation. We're calling it a bait and switch. It's likely going to get a little messy with how little notice we were given to prepare, but you two are going to be acting as body doubles and impersonating some very important clients of the village. They have reason to believe that someone is going to make an assassination attempt on them at the event you'll be attending in their stead. Another team is already en route. They will handle the assassin, assuming there is one, and subdue them covertly before the ceremony starts while you two stand in for the clients. Since you're one of our most adept with the transformation jutsu, I've chosen you to accompany Captain Yamato."

You stood there blankly, blinking in confusion as the words began to sink in through your momentary distraction. "Excuse me, sir, did you say ceremony?"

"Yes. This is a wedding. Did I not mention that earlier?"

"You did, Ka--I mean, Lord Hokage, just before she arrived," Yamato cleared his throat stiffly.

Your brain malfunctioned for a moment as your heart climbed into your mouth, fighting through the swell in your chest to maintain the air of composure and professionalism befitting a shinobi of your standing. "And… who is it we will be impersonating?"

"The head of a noble family from the Land of Tea," Kakashi stated casually as he slid the files forward. "We forged a relationship with them some years ago when I was leading Team Seven. Everything you will need to know about the event and all of the personal details about the identities you will be assuming are in these mission dossiers."

Chewing the inside of your cheek to maintain your air of calm, you carefully plucked the packet of papers from his desk, scanning through them to glean some vague details regarding your assignment. Pictures, statistics, and relationship diagrams related to the woman you were to become flashed before your eyes as you flipped through the pages. "And where will the clients be staying while we are replacing them?" You inquired without looking up.

"Here, in the village. They'll be stowed in a discrete location after arriving under the guise of shopping for wedding gifts for the event. You two will assume their identities and leave as them," Kakashi said with a glance to the open window, shifting in his seat as a messenger bird perched on the sill. Upon unrolling the sealed scroll attached to its leg, he hummed lightly before rolling the parchment up and setting it aside again. "Looks like they'll be arriving ahead of schedule. I need you two to get ready to head out as quickly as possible. Meet at the designated location at dusk to make the swap."

"Understood."

This is what I get for being so goddamn good at doing impressions, you thought to yourself with a heavy sigh as you sat upon a creaky bench in the courtyard of the administrative building housing Kakashi's office, mission dossier flopped open on your lap. Having precious little time to study, you chose to forego returning home before embarking on this assignment and instead spent your time absorbing as much information from the pages in front of you as possible. Mannerisms, pitch of voice, quirks of the face that appeared only with genuine emotions all needed to be memorized if you were to fool those closest to these people into believing that you were in fact the genuine article. Transformation jutsu and body doubling weren't just about physically appearing identical to your mark -- you had to become them, and that's precisely why you were tapped for this mission. At least, that was how it appeared on the surface.

Your mind drifted off as the implications of the details involving this mission began to sink in. You had to pose as Yamato's wife. Well, as the wife of the man he was impersonating, at least. But that meant behaving as a happily married couple with Yamato. Your face flamed, prompting you to pick up the bound copy of your notes to hide your tenuously contained embarrassment behind open pages as you swallowed back a lump in your throat. The carefully packaged affections -- rather, this crush -- you harbored for your assigned partner were bubbling dangerously close to the surface of your professional exterior.

You and Yamato had been dancing around this for months. Neither of you seemed quite daring enough to make the first move, being unaware of the feelings each harbored for the other. Yamato could be a touch stiff sometimes when it came to matters of the heart, even when off duty, and the last thing you wanted to do was spook him. You worked together frequently and had superb chemistry when it came to collaborating on missions, but you just couldn't get a read on him to know if there was anything beyond that. You went on assuming your feelings were unreciprocated and kept them to yourself until about a week ago when Yugao ribbed you playfully about Yamato stealing glances at you when your team had gone out for drinks on a much-needed day off.

Not a good time, brain, you silently chastised yourself, shaking your head as you took a deep breath and lowered the documents onto your lap again. There were far more important things to be worrying about than your schoolgirlish interest, namely getting into character for your mission. With how many close friends and relatives you would be interacting with, this was one situation where your acting skills needed to be absolutely on point.

Glancing up at the lazy orange rays filtering off the setting sun, you closed your mission dossier after having spent the last couple of hours absorbing all of the data contained within those bindings and rose to your feet, adjusting your mask slightly.

Better get a move on. The show's about to start.

With a loud pop of your neck and a deep, cleansing breath, you vanished into the rustling trees.

I can't believe people actually live like this, Yamato thought to himself as he cleared his throat and took a seat beside you in the carriage belonging to the faces you both currently wore. While he had been on his fair share of missions for the elite, the decadence with which they lived still never ceased to amaze him. A pile of gifts and carefully wrapped packages occupied the opposite bench, flaunting the wealth of the nobles who hired the Hidden Leaf for this mission. Paper rustled and shifted slightly as the cabin began to move. Camouflaging his opinions under the mild-mannered guise of his mark, Yamato brushed a bit of fuzz from the plush fabric of the seat and gazed through the sheer coverings hanging over the carriage's window as it traveled through the village's gates. At least everything is going smoothly.

Dawn had just broken in the Land of Fire, and its quiet warmth filtered into the small space he shared with you. It was remarkably pleasant. The sun yawned its way through the clouds, shining sleepy rays of light across the horizon as it readied itself for another day of work illuminating the landscape below.

With a quiet hum, Yamato reached for the dainty hand of his mark's wife, making idle chat as he laced his fingers through yours in the affectionate manner he had observed during his brief meeting with the couple the night before. "Did you enjoy your shopping trip in the village?"

Your heart skipped a beat. "I only wish we could have stayed longer," you sighed wistfully with the noblewoman's musical timbre. "I simply can't get enough of these quaint little villages. They're just so adorably rustic," you chirped. "Like stepping into another world. It's just so fascinating."

Still as skilled as ever at putting on a show, Yamato mused to himself from behind his transformation. He couldn't help but to admire how easily you settled into these roles, adopting the mannerisms and quirks of strangers from nothing but a brief meeting and a cram session with a profile book. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought he was holding the real Lady Nanami's hand. He admired so much more about you, but it just never seemed like the right time to say something about it. "Shame it's such a lengthy trip," he hummed in return.

"Oh, please. You know you're just going to sleep the entire way to the venue," you teased with a melodic laugh.

That's right. Yamato managed a quiet chuckle befitting Lord Tenji and leaned over to press a chaste kiss to your cheek before settling into his seat and closing his eyes. "Ah, darling. You know me too well."

"I'll wake you when we arrive." Were it not for your extensive training and impressive poker face, you might have broken character when the man played by Yamato brushed his lips so daringly close to yours and sent an army of butterflies flitting wildly about in your stomach. All you could do was enjoy it for a moment under the unabashed mask of a doting wife and try to remind yourself that you were just playing pretend.

As expected, the day-long journey from the village to the accommodations booked for the wedding was largely uneventful, save for a minor detour after you discovered the bridge you were to take into town had been damaged under suspicious circumstances. You hummed quietly for much of the ride, tapping coded details about the mission status against your faux-husband's knuckles as he feigned sleep and snored convincingly on the bench seat beside you. When the carriage finally halted and you spotted a large building through the window coverings, you gave Yamato's disguised shoulder a nudge.

"Wake up, dear. We're here."

Just hearing those words leave your lips caused the butterflies in your stomach to return with a vengeance. You smiled teasingly as Yamato's Tenji mask made the grumbling sounds one might make after sleeping through a long trip and peered through the window with squinting eyes. He gave your hand another brief squeeze before one of the couple's attendants opened the carriage door, prompting Yamato to exit and offer a hand to his darling wife. Donning the noblewoman's air of confidence, you placed your palm in his and carefully stepped out of the cabin, admiring the impressive building before you. A sucker for architecture, Yamato was staring at its lovely features as well. Several stories tall, the traditionally-styled inn was adorned with beautifully carved, ornate curves highlighting the corners of the multi-tiered roof. It was a breathtaking sight for you, though Lady Nanami would hardly be so impressed.

"A little small for such a large wedding, don't you think?" You hummed with her cheery, condescending tone.

"Mm, it hardly matters, so long as our room has that spacious bath we requested," her husband's voice chortled just loud enough for the help to overhear. If you didn't know better, you might have thought Yamato was enjoying this.

Oh, how you wished you could break character right now. Instead, all you could do was buzz with the appropriate amount of mischievous laughter befitting a married noblewoman as you accompanied your husband into the hotel. As you went through the lengthy, formal greetings that needed to be bestowed upon fellow honored guests that you met upon entering the lobby, your mind began to wander while you operated on autopilot. You toyed with the idea that this was some kind of elaborate setup on Kakashi's part -- an effort to meddle in his friend's distinct lack of a love life by inserting you into his target's sights as a person of interest.

That's absurd. He's the goddamn Hokage, not a middle school matchmaker. This is a mission. FOCUS.

Your eyes flicked from face to face, searching for any that didn't appear in your dossier. So far, there didn't seem to be anyone unexpected present, though you were well aware that all of the guests had yet to arrive. Some likely wouldn't be here until morning. While it wasn't part of your orders to apprehend the unknown suspect in question, you still needed to be on alert. Just as your gaze fell upon a face that you couldn't quite place, an attendant stole your attention, informing you that he would be showing you and your husband to your suite. Two small taps against your palm indicated that Yamato had spied the same unknown figure, prompting you to squeeze his hand in acknowledgement before beginning to chatter to the man rolling your suitcases about the accommodations your room was to have.

"Rest assured, Lady Nanami, the room is most certainly up to your standards," the young man beamed with a saccharine smile as he unlocked the door, ushering you and your partner inside. He deposited the keys into your masquerading husband's hands, still with that forced friendliness pulling at his lips. "Please, don't hesitate to call the front desk should you need anything at all."

As the door clicked shut, your eyes fell upon the alarmingly lavish accommodations contained in the deceivingly spacious suite in which you stood beside your fellow actor. A king-sized, canopy bed more ornate than anything you had ever laid eyes on in your life was the crown jewel in the center of the main room, topped with more decorative pillows and plush blankets than could ever possibly be necessary. The fluttering in your stomach returned upon realizing you were likely going to be sharing that enormous mattress with Yamato for the duration of your mission. While there was a chaise lounge tucked against the far window, you doubted he would risk being caught sleeping anywhere that would be deemed out of character on the off chance that someone came to the couple's room between the rehearsal dinner and the wedding ceremony.

"Sweetheart, why don't you go check on the state of that bath? I'd hate to get settled in if it isn't what we requested," you chimed, still standing beside the door, unsure if anyone was still lingering outside. With a quick twist of your hands, you signed, 'spider'.

Yamato gave you a slight nod before prattling on in the teasing tone of a recently married man as he began checking around the bathroom for listening devices.

You answered with coded, flirtatious retorts as you casually flipped through the bedding, searching other areas of the room for any insidious items that may have been planted prior to your arrival. While you expected this assassination attempt to occur over dinner, you chose to err on the side of caution. The last thing you needed was to have your cover blown before the rehearsal even began.

"Well?" You chirped from beside the heavy, wooden dresser, peering innocently around the large mirror as you scanned every inch of the suite.

"It's perfect," the voice of Nanami's husband called back after a bit of cabinet opening and towel shuffling was heard from the bathroom, which was code for all clear. "What about the bed?"

"A little frilly for my taste, but it will suffice."

Yamato chuckled softly. Only she could adopt someone else's sense of humor so quickly. "We have a little while yet before the rehearsal, do you want to take that bath?"

Heat flashed through your cheeks, as you imagined those words being delivered in Yamato's rich baritone instead of the stuffy drawl of your character's husband. Stay on mission! Your inner voice berated you so loudly that you were sure the entire building could hear. Clearing your throat, you replied cheekily in a dazzling display of manufactured composure with a sly smile perched upon the noblewoman's lips, "I'm afraid we don't have nearly enough time for that."

Wait… is she… did she think I meant… oh, hell… Yamato froze for a moment, as his brain malfunctioned over whether it was deciphering a coded message or being flirted with.

You weren't entirely sure what you meant by that yourself, if it was intended to be your character teasing her husband or if you were making veiled passes at Yamato. Perhaps, beneath the acting and the impressions, it was a bit of both. Shaking your head as you admonished yourself again, you began unpacking your bags, setting out a smattering of your ninja tools mixed in with the absurdly fancy dress you would be required to wear in another hour or so. Truthfully, you did want a bath, as the long trip spent sitting in a carriage in someone else's clothes left you feeling a bit itchy, but there wasn't enough time. The real Nanami explained to you that getting into this particular dress required a bit of gymnastics and controlled breathing, recommending that you not wait until the last minute to attempt putting it on.

"I didn't realize it had gotten so late already," Yamato finally spoke again after regaining his bearings, stepping out of the bathroom to see you staging the bed with all of the things you would require for the evening.

"You wouldn't know since you slept through it, but the trip took a bit longer since one of the main bridges was out," you hummed, eyeing him and then the door as you hid your knives.

Hearing the movement outside, he apologized as he swiped a few objects out of sight beneath the many pillows. "Right. I suppose I missed that."

Three light taps rattled the door, and a familiar voice rang through from outside. "Room service, courtesy of the bride and groom."

Seriously? Is this their big plan? Yamato's fingers tightened around the hilt of a kunai as he calmly strode toward the door, peering through the peephole carved into the top. There, with a silver cart topped with bottles of very expensive looking sake, stood the attendant who showed you to your room not twenty minutes ago.

After taking a breath, you pressed down on the sides of your ribs, making your voice sound strained as you did your best impression of a Nanami panicked by embarrassment. "For the love of--Husband! Don't you dare open that door!"

Yamato watched through the peephole as the young man's face tarnished with a lovely shade of red upon hearing your shrill cry. "Erm, yes. As you heard, I'm afraid I can't open the door right now. Please leave whatever it is on the table there." That seemed to be enough to scare him off, as he quickly deposited the bottle next to a vase on the table to the side of the door before hastily moving on to the next room. Yamato breathed a momentary sigh of relief, giving you a signal for all clear.

What? You signed with a perplexed expression.

After ensuring that the door was locked, Yamato mimed drinking. That absurd gesture might have gotten a small smile out of you were it not for the grave reminder that followed -- a warning delivered on borrowed hands. Poison. While the probably was implied, neither of you were going to risk it, especially while in the middle of a mission in which the people you were masquerading as were actively the targets of a still unknown assassin.

With a slight nod, you looked back down at the mess you had made of the bedding in your rush to hide your tools, wrinkling your nose as you realized that now was the time to get yourself wrestled into that rib-breakingly clingy dress. Getting the hint, Yamato gathered the suit he was to wear and whisked off to the bathroom to make a quick change.

You, meanwhile, were cursing under your breath as you executed the series of complicated maneuvers and breathing techniques Lady Nanami detailed would be required to wriggle your way into that thing. Why couldn't she just have chosen a different dress? The conversation regarding this very thing hung in the back of your mind as you recalled Kakashi attempting to bargain with her on the matter for the sake of the mission, but Nanami refused to budge, insisting that it would be out of character for her to come dressed in anything else.

With a quiet, frustrated growl, you looked up at your disheveled reflection upon hearing Yamato's footsteps move into the room again and watched him approach you from behind. You thanked your lucky stars that you had such a good poker face, as the embarrassment that would have been flaming your head otherwise would have been intolerable. While you were half-zipped into the medieval torture device cleverly disguised as lady's ware, Yamato was fully clothed, looking quite dapper while cloaked in a strange man's face. Apparently, getting into a suit required far less effort. Maybe I should have made him go as Lady Nanami instead.

Both you and Yamato knew this was probably going to be an issue, as Lady Nanami had offhandedly mentioned that she sometimes needed a little bit of help getting zipped in, though neither of you had discussed how this would pan out in practice. There just wasn't enough time. Having worked with you extensively in the past, Yamato was well aware that you disliked enclosed spaces, especially after a particularly sketchy mission that had you squished into a crack in a rockface for two days to avoid enemy detection. This dress definitely qualified as an enclosed space.

"Exhale," Yamato murmured in his own voice, gingerly setting his hands on either side of your ribs in an effort to provide some familiarity and be grounding. The heat of his breath fanning your neck as he stood directly behind you felt oddly pleasant despite your growing discomfort with Nanami's godforsaken dress.

Hunched over the edge of the dresser, you let out the last little bit of air in your lungs to shrink your rib cage enough for Yamato to advance the zipper and wrap down the accompanying clasps. You felt like you might actually pass out when you tried to inhale again and found your lung capacity to be extremely restricted. "I'm a sitting duck in this thing," you whispered.

"Everything is going to be fine. Just remember what she said about breathing vertically and keep playing the part," he stated calmly while keeping his volume to a minimum.

"I can't bend or reach the kunai on my leg," you all but wheezed while maintaining an eerily straight face. "Do we have a plan b?"

Yamato's borrowed eyes scanned the mask of calm you were wearing over Lady Nanami's face, noting the tension in your jaw that was becoming more and more difficult to conceal. "Unfortunately, no. You're going to have to just tough it out. We always intended for you to be bait to draw them out if it came down to it, but don't worry. Lady Nanami's husband isn't going to leave her side, and we have the other team working in the shadows. You aren't going to be a sitting duck." While Yamato's carefully delivered words came as a slight reassurance, they did little to remedy the obvious functional issues your present state would have on dealing with assassins. Disguising his voice again, he spoke with his hands still on your sides. "Sit down over here. I'll help you with your shoes."

You followed his direction without objection and awkwardly lowered yourself onto the padded chair near the window, taking the opportunity to get a handle on breathing with this much pressure crushing your ribs. Meanwhile, Yamato knelt before you and buckled shoes very unfit for shinobi life onto your feet. It felt strange, letting him dress you like a doll, but it was all part of the mission, you told yourself -- not to mention the fact that you had little chance of leaning over and putting on those shoes yourself with how stiff the bodice of your dress was. This was just a bit of professional role play. Pretend with a paycheck, nothing more.

With a quiet smile, he retrieved an item from his pocket and clasped a piece of delicate jewelry around the back of your neck, taking his time to adjust the shimmering stone pendant to sit properly just below your collarbones with a few careful turns of the chain. "You look lovely." Thinking that was part of the act, you glanced up at him to say a thanks appropriate for the situation. When he unexpectedly brushed the cheek of your character's mask almost affectionately, for an instant it seemed he wasn't smiling at her, but rather, he was smiling at you. "Shall we, my dear Nanami?"

A pang of rejection struck your chest as the illusion shattered and you took his outstretched hand, wearing your most convincing smile.

When you arrived at the banquet hall arm-in-arm with your fellow fraud, you were greeted by quite an impressive sight as you stepped through the threshold leading into the ballroom. Hardly seeming like a mere rehearsal dinner, the tables and chairs were elegantly set as though they were ready for the main event. The grand chandelier hanging from the impossibly high ceiling glittered and threw twinkling sparkles around the vast space, shrouding everything the light touched in fairytale glamor.

"Mikasa outdid herself," you hummed knowingly in Nanami's melodic voice as you struggled to contain your awe at the extravagance of it all while simultaneously controlling your breathing so as to not pass out.

"Nami-chan, you made it!" An excited voice squealed in surprise from across the hall. The blushing bride, your identity's dear friend, rushed toward you with outstretched arms.

With a twist of guilt wringing your heart that you were a mere imitation of the woman the bride thought you to be, you echoed her enthusiasm and wrapped her in a warm hug, recalling that the two were quite close and that this was an appropriate greeting, according to your file. "Darling! Look at you -- you're positively radiant! Of course I made it. I wouldn't have missed your special day for the world."

"I was so worried after hearing about that bridge and those bandits--" Mikasa chattered dramatically, pausing abruptly as she laid eyes on the help shuffling about in the background. "Excuse me," she whispered before quickly clearing her throat and clacking off to address some grievous offense made by a hapless kitchen worker. "Young man! What are you doing with that? Those go over -- give me -- yes, I'm aware this dress is worth more than your house -- give me that right now--"

Stifling laughter, you and Yamato glanced at each other briefly before taking your marked seats at the table meant for the rehearsal. Nanami had warned you of her friend's micromanaging antics and gave you permission to giggle if Mikasa did anything ridiculous, as Nanami herself would have been cracking up at such a sight. It wouldn't have surprised Nanami to hear that her friend had all but thrown herself two weddings. You were only sorry she couldn't be here to see it.

As the minutes ticked by and Mikasa squeaked panicked orders at the overworked kitchen staff, the rest of the guests slowly began filtering in, filling the chamber with the low, echoing hum of idle conversation. You donned your best haughty expression as every mover and shaker in the Land of Tea stopped by to get chummy with the Lord and Lady played by Yamato and yourself as they waited for the bride and groom to make their official appearance. All the while, you and your disguised comrade were working to suss out the rat -- scanning for signs of discontent amongst the groveling passersby as they stopped by your places to humbly kiss ass before taking their own seats, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Critically eyeing the room, you made a show of seeming displeased over something trivial with a slight gesture of your hand before leaning in toward your companion. "Are we sure we're the targets?" you whispered against Yamato's cheek over the quiet trills of the strings warming up in the background.

"Positive. There isn't nearly as much to be gained politically by going after Mikasa or her family. It has to be… us," he murmured back in a near inaudible hum, placing his hand on your shoulder in a manner that an onlooker might interpret as him trying to placate you before you broke apart and both settled properly into your respective seats again.

The lights dimmed momentarily as the band began to thrum into quiet song. The remaining guests shuffling about took this as their cue to find their seats, and the room's eyes collectively turned to the center of the ballroom as Mikasa and her husband-to-be made a dramatic entrance, stepping out from the shadows into the beautifully tiled pattern beneath the grand chandelier. She beamed proudly as the lights fell upon her, illuminating her sparkling dress with an ethereal glow as the man at her side addressed the room. Formal greetings and words of gratitude were bestowed upon all in attendance before they went on into speaking briefly about the event planned for the following day.

"But please, enjoy dinner and drinks before we get into the rehearsal itself," Mikasa declared with a wide smile, gesturing to the waiting staff. Heads turned to follow the sound of a train of rolling carts as a line of impeccably dressed kitchen workers appeared one after another, each with a single silver platter topped with a shining dome and accompanying drink on their respective trolly. "Each plate specially was prepared for all of your unique tastes as our clan's way of showing our humble gratitude for the support shown by each and every one of your houses."

The bride's gushing speech buzzed into the accompaniment of the strings as you focused upon the carefully choreographed dance displayed by the kitchen staff as they made the setting -- moving in sync as they placed their trays before their assigned guest, revealing the specialized meals hidden behind shining domes. The rich smells of delicious food and sounds of delighted chatter filled the room as the line of honored guests set their eyes upon the lavish meal prepared just for them. Each plate and paired drink was unique, which made detecting any acts of subterfuge all the more difficult. You couldn't simply look for differences in the spread, which made you all the more suspicious.

Yamato seemed to be following the same line of thought as you, as he feigned interest in seeing what was served down the line before setting his sights on the plate in front of him.

You gazed curiously at your own meal, recalling that it was what Nanami stated to have chosen off of the list she was provided in the wedding invitation. As your eyes trailed upward, following the reflective dome up the hand holding it, you spied a familiar face painted with the same stiff expression as the rest of the line of chefs.

The attendant.

"Enjoy your meal, my Lady," he hummed with a soft bow before turning heel and following the train of carts out of sight once again with the rest of his identically dressed cohorts.

The gears cranked rapidly in your head as you sorted through all of the available data. Nothing about this seemed correct. The setting of the rehearsal dinner, the absurd number of dishes offered -- none of it fell in line with your previously conceived notions of how a wedding typically worked. While you assumed some concessions needed to be made, considering the social standings of these people, something besides the chokingly tight fit of your dress sucked the air from your lungs. None of the guests struck you as suspicious -- only the reappearing attendant who now seemed to be kitchen staff exuded any hint of malice, and his could simply be attributed to a dislike of the elite.

The chime of a glass and the clearing of a throat prompted everyone including you and Yamato to look up. The blushing bride offered another exuberant speech that was largely drowned out by your noisily processing thoughts. It wasn't until glasses were raised in a celebratory toast that you reacted, wearing the aloof smile of an aristocrat as you daintily lifted your glass and joined in the group's declaration of cheers.

A toast. Of course. What better way to ensure everyone takes a drink.

As the liquid in your goblet splashed upon your tongue with a metallic tang that seemed to confirm your suspicions, you reached under the table and placed your hand on Yamato's knee as you slowly tapped letters out in code to signify you were about to be in trouble before reluctantly swallowing the swill as you made smiling eye contact with Mikasa.

Yamato cleared his throat, knowing he had to remain in character despite the dire implications of your tapped message as he drank from his own glass to keep up his charade. Curiously, he found nothing wrong with his drink's taste as you had. Only Lady Nanami was the target? What did we miss? Wait -- did she just drink that knowing it was tainted?

Without missing a beat, you set your drink down, dabbing your lips with a napkin as you tapped a final string of letters against Yamato's thigh. B - A - I - T. You made strong eye contact with him before making polite dinner conversation and picked up your hand to retrieve your utensils to tuck into your meal. By this point, you were in far too deep to cut the mission short just to save your own skin. You knew the risks when you signed up for this. No matter the cost, you were going to see it through to the end.

What the hell is she thinking, baiting the target to reveal themself by letting them believe she's as good as dead? Is that her plan? What about the other team? Yamato chewed his food thoughtfully, his calm facade carefully camouflaging the sickening sensation twisting about in his guts that was wholly unrelated to the meal set before him. Alright, so suppose we wait out the dinner, then what? We have no idea how long whatever she drank is going to take to cause problems or if the antidotes in our medipak are even going to be effective on whatever this is. I'm sure whoever set this in motion doesn't want to cause a scene in front of all of these people. Poison implies it was meant to be discrete. Maybe that means we have a bit of time.

You maintained the carefully crafted mask of Lady Nanami's bubbly demeanor throughout the duration of the meal despite the nauseating burn that was beginning to ravage your insides. When Mikasa rose from her throne to announce that it was now time to rehearse the dance reserved for the noble families, your chest tightened into knots. Sitting down while maintaining this poker face through the roaring agony you were in was one thing. Dancing while you felt like your guts were melting was another beast entirely. All the while, the bride seemed to be keenly focused on you and Yamato while she spoke, as though she were expecting something to happen when she summoned you and her guests to the dance floor. Much to Mikasa's dismay, you rose to your feet after taking Yamato's outstretched hand, following him to the ballroom floor with cleverly disguised support to keep you from collapsing.

As soon as one of the other guests leaves, we can slip out without drawing any attention to ourselves, Yamato reasoned silently. He only hoped you were going to last that long. Judging by the clammy sweat slicking your palms, that window of opportunity needed to open itself sooner rather than later. "Keep it together," he murmured against your temple as he led you through the dance steps dictated by the onlooking bride.

You could only manage a bit of a hum in reply. All of your energy was currently occupied with maintaining your transformation and wearing Lady Nanami's delighted expression while Yamato directed your movements around the room as it began to spin. The songs droned on and the pitches of the instruments began to bend and groan out of sync with reality as the tangled notes tumbled into your head. Sweat was beginning to bead on your brow. The dress seemed to be growing tighter by the second. Swallowing hard with that cheerful mask still plastered to your face, you squeezed Yamato's hand in alternating bursts.

S - O - S.

Yamato flexed his jaw as he scanned the room, looking for any sign that the other guests were getting ready to retire, but there didn't seem to be a sluggish soul in sight. Damn. She's at her limit. Time to improvise. After a moment of thought, he glanced down at the fancy, delicate looking stilettos that were strapped to your feet, eyeing the slim point on which you were precariously balanced. Tenji is a bit of a klutz, right? He mulled over the details of his dossier for a beat before deciding to move forward with his plan regardless. With a calculated, clumsy-looking step, he sent you off balance with a swipe of his foot, resulting in your pointed heel snapping away from its sole with a resounding crack.

"My shoe--" You gasped in genuine surprise through the fog of disorienting pain that left you dizzy and teetering already. You stumbled, shifting your weight onto your other foot and leaned heavily into your dance partner's chest, now realizing what Yamato was up to.

"Oh, darling. I'm so sorry," he babbled sheepishly, quickly swiping the broken spike from the floor, eyeing the reactions of the crowd. It seemed his performance was convincing enough, as he received a judgmental glance from a single couple before they quickly averted their eyes. "Let's return to our room for a spare pair, shall we?"

Nodding with feigned embarrassment, you circled an arm around him for support as he swiftly guided you out of the hall. Glancing over your shoulder, you spied Mikasa staring into the back of your head with a festering malice beginning to stain her features.

It's her.

"Almost there," Yamato's voice strained the limits of his disguise as he hurriedly helped you through the halls that led back to your shared room. Raspy breaths wheezed beside him as your hand knotted into the back of his suit jacket, holding on for dear life as you began losing control of the chakra maintaining the illusion of Lady Nanami's visage. With an arm awkwardly wrapped around your waist, he fumbled with the keys to unlock the door as you melted into his shoulder, hiding your face from the mercifully deserted hallway as the illusion shattered and your true features emerged.

"Dress," you croaked desperately, twisting under Yamato's arm the second the door clicked shut as you yanked at the front of the constrictive wrapping. "Get it off--"

Scrambling to keep a grip on you as you stumbled toward the bathroom in a feverish daze, Yamato struggled to make quick work of the clasps between your jerky movements and the tight press of your ribs against the fabric. Releasing his own transformation, he gripped your sides to keep you still as you lurched forward. "Listen to me. You need to pull yourself together for ten seconds so I can get this thing off of you without destroying it. Exhale."

With your head spinning and your stomach threatening to crawl out of your mouth, you latched onto the familiar voice, finding a moment of focus to empty your lungs enough for him to release the clasps and yank the zipper down your back. This was decidedly not how you expected your hypothetical first time experiencing Yamato ripping your clothes off of you to go. You twisted yourself halfway out of the medieval trapping before caving over the toilet and heaving with the fabric still bunched up around your hips.

Brows twisted into knots, Yamato quickly returned to the main room and rifled through the suitcases, digging out the medical pack you had the foresight to bring along for the mission.

"Red -- vial--" you gasped between bouts of retching. You knew what this was, or so you hoped. The taste tainting your wine led you to believe it was a poison favored by hired hitmen, and that one of the vials in your bag would at least buy you some time. A cold sweat slicked your entire body as you clutched the rim of the bowl and tremors climbed your spine.

This is bad. Yamato's eyes narrowed on your twisted form as you dangled over the open seat while he plucked the proper syringe from the lot. A sickening twinge of guilt twisted around in his chest as he made his way back over to you. He was the one who told you that you were probably going to be bait. He gave the order to suck it up and carry on like your insides weren't melting. He told you that everything was going to be fine.

"Whatever this is is definitely in your bloodstream now. The food probably just slowed it down," he stated while trying to maintain an air of calm as he knelt beside your crumpled body.

Coughing and spitting the bile that clung to your tongue, you shifted sideways to sit on the floor, still half tangled in Nanami's dress. Feeling like deep fried death, now was not the time to be coy or shy around your partner. The mission was still incomplete. Your feelings aside, you needed to neutralize the poison before you were completely incapacitated. "Give me the… the thing," you rasped in a confused drawl, motioning to the syringe in his hand as you fumbled with the fabric gathered around your legs.

"Just -- here--"

Before you could quarrel about who was doing what, Yamato unceremoniously grabbed a handful of fabric, shoving the wrinkled mess out of the way to expose your thigh. With the other hand, he jabbed you with the syringe, emptying its contents into the meatiest part of your muscle. You grimaced, growling audibly and cursing under your breath as the noxious ache associated with that substance buzzed through your blood.

"Is that going to be enough? Any idea how much you actually ingested?" He inquired while setting the empty vial down, trying to get you to focus by pointing your face at his. All thoughts of the mission seemed to have been emptied from his head. Now, he was more concerned about you.

"Mikasa," you hissed through your teeth, ignoring the question as your head fell back against the cabinets behind you.

"No, we went over this. She's -- damnit, is that poison clouding your head, too?"

"No," you grunted, swallowing back more bile rising in your throat. "She -- ordered the hit. Had to be her," you choked out between pained breaths, clenching your eyes shut. "If she -- wants power... dead Nanami -- means chaos," you rasped as beads of sweat rolled down your face.

With his mind returning to the mission for a moment, it struck Yamato that you were likely correct. Nanami being the actual heir and head of the family, it made sense that killing her might throw things into disarray if someone wanted to stage a coup. "If that's the case, and Mikasa is behind this, we are way beyond our mission parameters. We don't have authorization to move against the noble families," Yamato clenched his jaw in frustration, glancing between you and the door as the gears in his head turned. "We have to contact the village with this information. We need new orders."

"Scroll," you strained between labored breaths, pointing a shaky arm to the main room at the suitcase sprawled open on the floor beside the bed. "I brought -- one of Sai's."

Of course she did. "Alright, hang tight for a second." Yamato studied you for a beat before standing. You were not in great shape, but this had to be done. Heading into the main room to scrawl out a message, he carried the special parchment over to the window, laying it out on a table before slicing his thumb on a kunai and drawing a swipe of blood over the seal in the corner to activate the jutsu. The ink upon the page twitched and crawled up from the letters, slithering together into the form of an owl. Yamato opened the window with a slight grunt, sending the creature off into the night. Now, all he could do was wait.

The sound of heaving and shuffling fabric coming from the bathroom drew his attention again, sending his own stomach twisting back into nauseating knots of worry. He walked back through the mess he had made of the room in his scramble to dig out the medipak and paused in the bathroom doorway, eyes falling upon your tensed shoulders as you spat more bile into the bowl and moved to sit defeatedly beside it once more, kicking off your broken shoes and twisting uncomfortably as you tried to worm yourself the rest of the way out of that godforsaken dress. Muttered curses and mockery left your cracked lips as you struggled. "Sadistic cow--"

Yamato stifled a laugh as you imitated Lady Nanami under your breath. Even when you looked like death, your sense of humor was still intact. "Here, let me help you with that before you get yourself more tangled up."

"Thank your stars -- that you didn't have to -- wear this thing," you huffed, face contorted in pain and embarrassment as Yamato grabbed the fabric bunched around your hips and shimmied it upward, finding it was easier to get off over your head.

Yamato had something amusing to say about that, but he bit his tongue. Now is not the time. Holding a dress worth more than his yearly salary, he gazed down at you as you sat on the tile in your underwear, looking ready to keel over. With an uneasy exhale, he hung the crumpled mess over a towel rack and snagged a washcloth from a nearby pile, dampening it with cool water before kneeling down in front of you again. "I'm sorry. This was definitely not part of the plan," he lamented while gently swiping the soothing cold over your face.

"We needed to stay in character," you muttered in a strained breath, stuffing down the urge to be sick again. "And I need… to not be upright," you grunted after a nauseating swallow, shifting away from the delightfully cool cloth on your face in order to lay on your side.

"Hey, none of that," Yamato grappled with your uncooperative limbs to sit you back up with growing concern staining his features and worry tightening his throat. "We don't know anything about what you ingested or if that antidote even worked. If you lose consciousness -- you might... not... wake up."

"I'll be fine," you mumbled, your head tipping forward against Yamato's shoulder as he moved you. Staying there seemed like a fine idea. "Probably, anyway."

"Probably isn't good enough," Yamato insisted, pinning you up against the cabinets behind your back by your shoulders.

"M'gonna throw up on you if you keep jostling me around."

"Fine. I don't care. Whatever it takes for you to stay… with me," he faltered, realizing how that sounded after the words left his lips. He meant to say conscious.

You snorted, tipping your head back into the cabinets as you swallowed another sickening lump in your throat. "We aren't in character anymore, Captain. You don't have to keep pretending."

That's just it. "I'm not pretending anything--" Yamato found himself at a loss for words.

"We have company," you interrupted, clenching your eyes shut as you hissed a pained breath through your teeth.

Yamato no doubt sensed it too, as his eyes darted in the direction of the main room before you finished speaking. Without missing a beat, he donned his transformation once again, straightening his tie and brushing wrinkles out of the suit jacket as he stood up. Tightening his grip around the hilt of a kunai, he made his way toward the door, peering through the peephole once again. Unsurprisingly, the same attendant stood at the door, peering directly into the hole cut into the door. "Yes?" He spoke through the door with Tenji's voice.

"Lady Mikasa was concerned that you hadn't returned to the rehearsal. Can I be of any assistance? A new pair of shoes for Lady Nanami, perhaps?"

"Lady Nanami twisted her ankle a bit during our little mishap on the dancefloor. I'm afraid she'll have to rest it until the ceremony tomorrow, so you'll have to excuse us for the remainder of the evening. Please, give our most sincere apologies to Lady Mikasa."

"Some ice, then?" The insistent voice offered.

Are they trying to confirm the kill? "That would be lovely, thank you." Yamato scanned the man through his notch in the door, trying to ascertain what level of threat he currently posed. He needed more information, and the individual behind the door could possibly be convinced to tell, assuming he was in fact in on the plot and not just an innocent, overworked bystander. Remaining perfectly still, he stood guard at the door as the attendant vanished down the long hallway and just waited. The sound of your stuttered breathing and occasional heaving vied for his otherwise rapt attention, though, causing his eyes to shift away from the little circular window following a particularly violent bout of retching coming from the bathroom. Damnit, whatever was in that vial wasn't enough. He turned back to the door with a swell tightening in his throat as he watched the same figure stroll down the hall, pausing at his door with a bucket of ice in hand. Yamato narrowed his eyes, spotting something small, maybe a cylindrical tube, nestled between the cubes inside of the bucket. What in the world? Do they intend to finish the job? Why would he leave it sitting so obviously in the open? Unless…

Three little knocks trilled through the door again, forcing Yamato to make a quick decision. "You can leave the ice on the table there."

The attendant shifted the bucket, causing the vial to turn and exposing the emblem stamped into the top. A leaf. Specifically, a Konaha leaf. "If you would permit me to come in, I might be of some help."

Is that… one of ours? It dawned on him then that the other team Kakashi mentioned must have been working somewhere in the shadows of the building, posing as staff. Taking a cautious leap of faith, he opened the door, allowing the attendant inside. In one swift motion, he lunged, pinning the man against the door as it closed with a kunai to his throat.

"Easy, Captain," the man answered calmly, holding his free hand and the one grasping the handle up as he shed his transformation. "It's Aoba."

Yamato breathed a sigh of relief with a quick apology as he lowered his knife. "It's good to see a friendly face," he said while losing his own transformation again and glancing toward the sound of your continued retching. "What's the news? I assume that if you've replaced one of the workers, the suspect has been captured?"

"Yes, it just took us longer than we thought. The whole thing was a mess. By the time we figured it out, the poison had already been planted and dinner was about to roll out. We had to wait until the staff returned to capture the attendant. Yugao has him under guard," Aoba explained, setting the bucket down and picking up the vial chilled within the ice, holding it out to Yamato. "I can't stay long. Give this to your partner. I doubt one dose was enough, judging by the sounds she's making."

Yamato took it without question. "Did you confirm from the suspect that Mikasa is behind all of this?"

"Yes. We're waiting for new orders from the village, just as I assume you are."

"Alright. Then we'll proceed with the mission as planned. Unless I hear otherwise from you or the Hokage, we'll attend the ceremony tomorrow as though nothing happened."

With a nod, Aoba shifted back into disguise, straightened his hat, and left.

After locking the door, Yamato returned to where you were slumped uncomfortably next to the toilet, still looking a bit green around the gills. "Did you hear any of that?" He inquired while kneeling down beside you and jabbing you in the thigh again with Aoba's present.

You groaned as your head fell back against the cabinets in defeat. "Yeah. Something about having to put that fucking dress back on."

Yamato stifled a laugh, feeling relieved that you were probably going to be fine now as he sat down beside you, setting the now empty vial aside. "At least you should be out of the woods now."

"I could only fit so many different things in the pack. Wasn't sure what we would be dealing with," you mumbled as a shiver wracked your body.

"It's fine. You were more prepared than most would have been, though I can't say I condone drinking poisoned wine without knowing that you had the proper antidote. That was a little reckless," he commented offhandedly, disguising his concern with scolding.

"Orders were to not break character. Nanami is a lush. Leaving a drop of liquid in that glass would have been suspicious," you grimaced, closing your eyes.

Yamato sighed. He of all people understood that sentiment. An awkward silence hung in the air as the things he wanted to say before Aoba's arrival slowly slithered back into his head. Only now, it seemed like the moment was lost, and he couldn't bring himself to spit it out. Gods, I'm such an idiot. "Can… I get you anything? A blanket, or water, maybe?"

"I just want to take a nap," you grumbled quietly. "And maybe to throw up again."

Everything he wanted to say was wadded up in the back of his throat. Words refused to form on his tongue. All Yamato could manage to do was pull his arms out of his suit jacket and drape it over your wilting body. What should I say... he sighed to himself. Before he could register what was happening, you shifted from your spot and curled up on your side, using his leg as a pillow. The frantic energy that carried the two of you to this point and ended in him practically ripping your clothes off for less than fun reasons had all but vanished, leaving a stuffy, uncomfortable silence hanging in the air. "Listen… about what I said earlier…"

"It's fine, really," you mumbled against his leg.

"No, you misunderstood--" Yamato sighed before gingerly setting his hand on your shoulder. "I wasn't feigning concern or just… pretending to care because of our roles for this mission. The masks we wear make everything so complicated," he lamented.

"Tell me about it," you breathed shakily. You were caught wholly off guard when his fingertips grazed your temple, brushing a few sweat-slicked hairs away from your face -- a sweet gesture that mimicked his earlier actions during your little warm up just before you left for the rehearsal. It left the same fluttering in your chest, followed by the same worry that you were reading too much into it.

Maybe I will after this mission is finally over. "Come on. You should really be in an actual bed."

"Unless you plan to carry me, I'm staying right here," you retorted flatly. Your huff rolled into a surprised squeak when Yamato called your bluff, shifting you around and scooping you off the floor. Under different circumstances, having him whisk you off to a bed would have left you buzzing with excitement. But right now, it just made you queasy. "Put me down before I yack all over your suit--"

"You aren't going to yack on my suit," Yamato chuckled as he carried you back into the main room and deposited you atop the disheveled bed. "Try to get some rest. You should be alright to sleep now that you've had a second dose. I'll wake you up when it's time to wrestle you back into that dress again."

With a disgruntled snort, you coiled yourself into one of the loose blankets, willing your thoughts to stop racing long enough for you to relax enough to sleep. As you settled in, Yamato took a seat on the edge of the bed, stationed between you and the door to keep watch for the night. Unable to let his guard down, he resigned himself to just listening to the steady sounds of your muffled breathing, turning every so often to steal a glance at your sweet, sleeping face.

The next day moved forward in a strange, dreamy haze. You woke up with a raging headache, feeling incredibly stiff and hungover, no doubt thanks to the side effects of the antidote you had taken to thwart the assassination attempt. You groaned your way out of bed, attempting to shake the lingering chill that simmered under your skin as Yamato helped you slither back into the godforsaken dress you promised to burn if you ever were forced to wear again. His calmly hummed reassurances that you would be returning to the village as soon as the day was through brought some solace, at least. Despite the strong urge to crawl back into the plush blankets piled atop the heavenly bed you slept upon, you sucked it up and put on your mask -- smiling with all of the haughty attitude your aristocratic identity would display for such an occasion.

You made your way to the venue together despite your desperate longing to go back to bed, linked by the arm Yamato kept around your back as he guided you to where you were supposed to be seated for the exchange of vows. Your head was still so hazy and full of noise, it took every ounce of your concentration to just keep up the ruse.

The ceremony itself was lovely from what your fuzzy brain could follow, though Mikasa's surprise as she walked down the aisle and spotted your very much alive face within the crowd was something you definitely wouldn't forget any time soon. You dabbed your teary eyes in faux, joyful wonder that Lady Nanami was able to make it to see her oh-so-special day, waving your handkerchief-wielding hand happily at her when she made eye contact before she turned forward to focus on the altar as the rest of the formalities commenced.

You blindly followed Yamato's protective lead with firmly joined arms from the wedding venue itself onward to the dizzying lights that illuminated the reception hall as your head still throbbed with confusion and fatigue. You were just barely keeping up appearances, and by now, Yamato definitely knew it. While your practiced poker face kept the other guests in the dark, your companion could feel that something wasn't quite right.

Everything seemed to roar past you at double speed while you floundered along in slow motion. Your eyes could only vacantly follow as the kitchen staff marched out in lock step, setting the stage of a fairytale evening just as they had the night before. The same platters topped with polished domes paired with matching goblets of expensive wine were set out in front of the myriad of guests in a carefully choreographed dance that left you wondering if you were seeing things. A curiously familiar face lingered for a moment and left a slip of paper discreetly tucked under your partner's plate before moving along with the rest of the line and vanishing into the kitchens. Yamato placed a hand on your knee under the table, jarring you out of your quiet daze to show you the small note now cupped in his palm. You sighed in relief upon reading the message.

Tea reinforcements en route.

What happened to Mikasa after her wonderful day was of little consequence to you now, as you were just glad to have survived your mission. With that in mind, you smiled genuinely at Yamato through the veil of another woman's face, squeezing his hand firmly. This time, the gesture wasn't simply part of the act.

Yamato leaned in under the guise of Lady Nanami's loving husband as his lips brushed against your cheek to whisper one last reassurance that he thought you might need to get through the remainder of the evening. "Just another hour or so, and we'll be on our way home."

"Are you still asleep?" A voice murmured from above as a hand lightly touched your shoulder.

Startled, you jolted upright, thinking that you had dozed off on the ride back to the village. A series of sounds attempting to be words left your mouth in a tangle as you struggled to fully rejoin the waking world. "Your face--"

"I know. We've been in the clear for a while. No need for disguises now," he chuckled lightly.

You blinked again to clear the fog from your head. "Did I sleep the entire way back? What time is it?"

"You could say that. And it's about noon," Yamato replied with another short laugh, resisting the urge to smooth down your sleep-tousled hair as the light shone through the window beside you, giving you a rather angelic glow despite the fatigue that still wrinkled your features.

"What--" You paused mid-word, realizing that you were definitely not in the back of the carriage like you initially thought. Your eyes moved over the white, pristine sheet laying over your legs, the table beside your bed, and lingered on the IV line stuck in your arm that tethered you to a bag of fluids hanging above your head. "--the hell?"

"You're in the hospital. After dinner last night, guardsmen from Lady Nanami's estate in the Land of Tea arrived, and Mikasa was arrested. We headed back to the village in disguise during all of the chaos. You were still pretty out of it for most of the ride back. I had the medics meet us at the swap location so they could bring you here to check you out," Yamato explained.

Still confused, you blinked a few more times, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes as you vaguely recalled the events Yamato described. "How long have I been here?"

"Since early morning. Sakura said it was mostly dehydration and chakra depletion caused by the way that antidote binds to toxins. Something about it utilizing chakra to burn off the byproducts of the neutralized poison. You'll probably be discharged in a few hours."

You glanced around Yamato as he spoke, now spotting the one colorful item that seemed out of place in your otherwise sterile room. There, on the table hidden just behind his shoulder, was a vase of powder blue flowers, delicately arranged and pointed toward your bed. "What… who brought me flowers?"

Yamato's cheeks flushed as he sheepishly smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, actually..." He stalled for a moment, unsure how you were going to react to what he was about to say as he silently cursed Kakashi for suggesting he do this in the first place. "...I did."

Faint, hopeful fluttering filled your chest for a moment, though you were still preparing yourself for disappointment. "Really?"

"After everything that happened with that mission and…" he trailed off for a beat, seeing the smile begin to fade from your lips as he once again seemed to be failing to get his point across the right way. "Look, I'm terrible at this," he laughed at himself. "And my timing is atrocious, with you being in the hospital and everything. This might be totally inappropriate to ask, but would you like to go out to dinner with me sometime? After you're feeling better, of course. No masks or characters. Just us."

The fading curl upon your lips quickly recovered, and the hopeful fluttering in your chest morphed into a flurry of relief and excitement. As you looked up into the eyes of the man you had spent so much of the last mission wishing you could see instead of those belonging to the person he was masquerading as, you couldn't help but to smirk a little. "As long as I don't have to wear that godforsaken dress again."

The tension broke and Yamato erupted with genuine laughter. "You can wear whatever you like."

"Don't give me that kind of freedom," you teased. "I might show up in pajamas."

"Just let me know what color so I can coordinate with my tie."

You snorted, stifling your giggles, as it was impossible to tell if Yamato was serious or not. Either way, you didn't care. The bandaid had at last been ripped off, and two of you could finally stop dancing around the awkward elephant in the room. "How about tonight?"

"Tonight sounds perfect."

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Tagged: @sphinxfantasy

#naruto x reader #yamato x reader #captain yamato x reader #yamato tenzo #naruto imagines #naruto fanfiction #yamato tenzou #chanfictions

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historicfailure · 2 years

Text

13th Chapter: "Something New to Learn"

For the taste of Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke, Yamato and you move way too slow. So, Naruto sets off to play matchmaker, even if his plan works in mysterious ways only.

~ X ~

Hey there! Sorry for the long wait! T^T

As you all know, I hit a rough patch in my work life. Lots of stuff to do and lots of things to work on, unfortunately no time to work on fanfiction. Then lots of moving around and such, and you have the perfect ground to not be able to work on fanfics T^T9 So, I hope you guys like this chapter! It's pretty much a set-up for the ones coming afterwards, and I'm still thoroughly enjoying building up a few more connections for the MC ^^ Thank you all for your patience!

~ X ~

“They’re still not moving forward.”

Sakura leaned against the counter, her eyes firmly set on the table with the painfully oblivious lovebirds. The captain and (Y/N) were just… sitting at their table, taking little bites from their respective food, and just throwing little-yet-telling glances at each other when the other person was busy with eating. Honestly, it was ridiculous. Why couldn’t they just move a little bit faster?

Sakura knew her boss deserved to be happy. She was pretty sure (Y/N) also deserved to be happy. Why couldn’t they just be happy together? Really, sometimes she thought that becoming a fully fledged adult wouldn’t be good at all if she would also suck at communication like them.

“Naruto…” Sakura whispered to her co-worker, “I think it’s time for one of your ideas.”

In an instant, the boy perked up like an overly eager puppy. “Really? Hell yeah! I know what we can do, believe it!”

“Well…” She gestured towards the table with the two oblivious lovebirds. “Work your magic. I’m at my wits end.”

“Wait. Is today Thursday?”

“Yeah. Why?”

But he only pumped his fist, before walking over to the table, armed with nothing but a bright smile and his sunny personality. Sakura only hoped that would be enough for them to finally talk and maybe finally drift together.

~ X ~

You had no idea what you had to expect when Naruto walked up to the table in the middle of your break with Yamato. Somehow, you were glad for the distraction, as you were busy trying to not stare at him so obviously. But it wasn’t your fault! The way Yamato looked with the August sun falling onto his lush, chestnut-brown hair while eating his sandwich with potato wedges bite for bite, his free hand splayed out on the table—Fuck, you wanted to take that hand again: wanted to feel the calluses; wanted to feel the small scars; wanted to feel the roughness of his skin against your own palm.

Needless to say, you caught a bad case of damned feelings. It wasn’t the first time you noticed, but slowly, the realization creeped in that your feelings were more profound than you initially believed. Hell, at the lake you could at least pretend that it wouldn’t possibly last! That you could act like you weren’t affected by him, like you wouldn’t fall deeper in love with him, at least not so quickly after Ryota abandoned you with broken confidence. And you absolutely didn’t plan to fall in love with someone who helped you out of the kindness of his heart.

And yet, here you were, helplessly sneaking glances at Yamato while trying to follow his words and their meaning, right when Naruto knocked onto the wood of the table.

“Hey there! Good to see you two, especially you.” His blue eyes darted between the two of you, then got stuck on Yamato. “Hey, captain… I have a question.”

“Go ahead.” The older man looked up to the boy, smiling in mild confusion as he did so.

“Sure. Uhm, you know,” one of Naruto’s arms rose and his hand buried in his blond hair, “I really need some stress relief and I wonder if you could bring me to your dojo again…? With my exams around the corner and Sasuke going on my nerves constantly with his music at home, I can’t really turn my brain off, believe it!”

To your surprise, Yamato’s eyebrows rose almost to his hairline. “You know what happened last time?”

“I know, I know. Not my proudest moments. Still, that work-out was the best I had in years! That Sakumo-grandpa really knows what he’s doing. Please, I’m begging you.”

Yamato hummed, while one of his hands pushed the half-empty plate out of the way. “Really? Last time you swore you wouldn’t go back, no matter what.”

“I totally changed my mind! Please…” Naruto’s cheery expression turned into a pout, his trademark signature whenever he desperately wanted something. “I really have to get away from the duckbutt-haircut for an afternoon.”

Obviously a not-very-common occurrence. So uncommon that you instinctively understood Yamato’s worried face when he spoke up again. “Hey, alright. If it’s that urgent, we can go. Do you have a time in mind?”

Naruto’s head tipped from side to side, thinking hard about his answer. “I mean… the faster, the better. Would today be alright? I really need that time away from him.” Then, his expression lightened up, like he just had the best idea of all times. “Hey, don’t they have this women-defense course there, too? That would be so cool if you come with us, believe it!”

The change of topic came way too fast. Blinking in surprise, you could only try to not look at Yamato, who seemed just as bewildered as you at Naruto’s idea. “Uhm… I don’t… I don’t think I would do well there…”

“Oh, I’m sure it’s a beginner’s course. Besides, Yamato would be there to help you out, just in case!”

Would he though? One look at him, and you saw the same confusion you felt on his face. Where did this proposition come from? So strange that Naruto seemed to really want you in that course for self defense.

Still glancing at Yamato for help, you shrugged. “Uhm, sure? Fine, yeah. I have some time this evening and nothing else to do. Where is that gym?”

“Nice!” Naruto pumped his fist. “But yeah, don’t call it a gym. It’s a dojo, and they only do martial arts there.”

Yamato still seemed a bit worried about your choice. “You don’t have to come,” he said, “the training with Sakumo can be really harsh. I can’t speak for that self-defense course as I never participated, but his higher level classes are really harsh.”

“Eeeh,” even though you already felt some nervousness creeping down your spine at the possibility of failing… in Yamato’s proximity, “I guess I can try it out at least. Just once.” Highly irrational, yes, but also deeply unnerving. When Yamato seemed a bit nervous at the prospect of you going to that dojo too, you would definitely be facing a situation which might be too much for you.

Nevertheless, you tried to hide your nervousness behind a confident grin. “It won’t be that bad. Just a valuable experience, right?”

~ X ~

It already dawned on you when you parked before the dojo that this wouldn’t be an easy, valuable experience as you hoped. Sure, you imagined the dojo in a little bit old-fashioned way, maybe a bit run-down too, but this… like the tranquil house jumped straight out of an asian martial-arts flick. Internally, you already debated if you could ask the owner to use the dojo potentially for some promotion-photos as you climbed the few stairs up to the entrance. Anko was working together with an author who could be interested in the scenery. Clutching to the strap of your bag holding some sportswear, you fidgeted around before breathing in and knocking at the front door.

It didn’t take too long. Just a few seconds and the door swung open. And to say your breath was taken away would be an understatement.

“Ah,” the older man said. The long greyish-silver hair was bound into a tight ponytail, crow’s feet crinkling in his gentle smile. “You must be Yamato’s friend. Come in.”

“Uhm… yeah. Yeah! I’m…” First, you shook your head, then you nodded. The soothing, gentle aura the older man emitted confused you to the very core. “I’m Yamato’s friend. There is a self-defense course for women going on…?”

“That is correct.” Opening the door wider, he gestured you in. “Don’t worry, you still have a few minutes. Get changed and get ready.”

With that, the man left you alone to enter the dojo and after a small pause, you followed him. He was kind of intimidating in his calmness, and even though you watched him in front of you, no sound could be heard from his naked feet as he walked around the entrance area.

Following his example, you heeled your shoes off and pushed them into a corner, where a few other pairs of shoes waited for their owners. The entrance area was small and cramped, but somehow cozy and exuding safety. There was a small counter with an old PC sitting behind it, some good old IKEA bookshelves with old, worn-out books filling the fake-brown compartments and different Martial-Arts-posters at the walls. Some of them showed off shadowy silhouettes in the process of kicking and hitting stuff while others showed off successful and strong winners of competitions.

Not only posters hung around the walls. Photos as well, some old and yellow with age, some newer. While the older man entered another room, not without checking on you one last time, you waved at him, only to step closer to another set of pictures.

A strangely familiar, small boy held a way too big trophy in his tiny, grubby hands. His father, the same man who opened the door for you, stood behind him, hands on the boy’s shoulders and beaming with joy and pride. You couldn’t make out if the boy was smiling as well, in the photo he wore a black mask covering his lower face.

Leaning closer, you studied the picture further. Really, you knew that boy. And if you really thought about it, you realized that some of the features of the father certainly translated into someone you already knew, unfortunately.

“I swear…” Groaning, you buried your face in your hands. “I thought I could escape work for a few hours here…”

“Not a chance.”

Even though you realized it was Kakashi’s voice so close to your ears, you couldn’t help but yelp and jerk away from the mocking words. Swirling around, you glared at the child-like man, who obviously showed no remorse over scaring you nearly to death. “If you weren’t one of my clients, I would yell at you for that.”

But the author didn’t answer. Instead, he brushed past you to sit down on the neglected seat in front of the PC, instantly picking up an abandoned cup of coffee and grimacing when he sipped at the beverage. “Fuck, talked too much with Tenzo.”

“You’re the small boy here?” Hiding a grin, you nodded towards the pictures. “And the other man is your father?”

“Elementary, my dear Watson.” He shrugged. “Probably spent most of my formative years here, won some tournaments, but my heart was never in it. My old man was thankfully of the understanding kind and let me drop martial arts in favor of other extracurricular activities.”

“You mean sneaking out at night to visit open bookshop nights and readings.” The rough voice of the older man echoed suddenly way too close. Barely suppressing a yelp, you swiveled around, arms tucked close and eyes wide, and saw the man from before right in front of you. Damn, he must be part cat! You didn’t hear him one bit!

A playful smile tugged at his mouth as he stretched his hand out. “My name is Sakumo Hatake, by the way. A pleasure to meet you.”

“I can only return that.” Shaking his hand, you tried to gather your frazzled wits. “A pleasure to get to know the father of my client.”

“Client…?” For a moment, Sakumo’s expression turned confused, only to brighten up after a few seconds. “Oh, you’re the editor my son talks so much about! A true miracle worker, at least that's what I hear from him!”

In your back, Kakashi groaned like a horrified teen. “Dad, no—!”

“Oh, really?” You liked Sakumo more and more with every passing second. So much more open, approachable and genuine than Kakashi from the get-go, even though those qualities were hidden beneath a lot of sarcasm and snark for the younger man. “Well, I have to take your word for it, as I get a little more complaints about my work from him…”

“Really?” Sakumo instantly shot a glance over your shoulder at his son. “I have to apologize for him, then.”

“Daaaad…” The pained groan from Kakashi was simply music to your ears. How many times did he torture you with sheer stubbornness, discussions and arguments about simple things which needed to be changed in his novel, the marketing strategies and the reading tours? Time to get him back for all your troubles. Kakashi could take it. After all, he was a big boy.

Though, before you could tease him further, Sakumo looked up to an old clock hanging over another door. “Oh, the course is about to start. If you want to join us, you have to hurry.” And with that, he vanished once more, leaving behind nothing but a still groaning Kakashi and your own smug self.

“What are you doing here?” he asked through the hands still hiding his face. You had the suspicion he went red, as the peaks of his ears were the colour of strawberries. It was a nice contrast to his usually pale skin and grey hair. “How did you find this dojo?”

You shrugged. “Naruto wanted to come here, desperately so. Something about him and Sasuke killing each other if they spent another afternoon caged in the same room.”

“Understandable, but what are you doing here?”

“He and Yamato invited me to come with them.”

“Mhm…” Serious-curious eyes peeked through the long fingers, just before Kakashi came up again. “Strange, though. But alright, you probably really should hurry. My father didn’t joke when he said that the course was starting.”

You heeded his warning. Even though Sakumo seemed to be a lot more open than Kakashi, you absolutely didn’t want to get on his back side. After all, why ruin a good reputation?

Only a few minutes later, you entered the main room of the dojo, cladded into a loose t-shirt and a pair of tight pants reaching down to your knees. A group of women was already loosely grouped around Sakumo and—to your mild surprise—Yamato. Both were dressed in white vests with long sleeves, white pants and with their bare feet firmly planted onto the ground.

“Aah.” Sakumo’s dark eyes sparked in badly hidden amusement. “There’s our last participant of the day. Hello! Please give us your name and why you joined this course.”

“Uhm…” All those people looking at you, with their interest in your person clearly written all over their features. Out of instinct, you waved into the round, while a nervous smile flashed over your face. “Hey there, my name is (Y/N)... and I just joined this course today to just… I guess, make some new experiences? I never participated in any self-defense classes before, so please go easy on me.”

A wave of chuckles wandered around the group, but you did not feel as though they were amused at your attempt for pleasantries. Perhaps, a secret joke that you weren’t let in on? Not yet, hopefully. One look at Yamato, who nodded at you with a small smile, and you stepped forward into some empty space in the group. Friendly faces all around. Your quickly beating heart calmed down a bit and you dared to smile at the two closest women, who seemed friendly enough and smiled back.

“Alright, good introduction.” In an instant, the light and joking tone vanished from Sakumo’s tone. The entire group straightened up with an unspoken command, and you felt your own spine and posture straightening up too. “And that was the last pleasantry we will indulge in until the end of this lesson. Form pairs and afterwards we will start with the first round of cardio shortly. (Y/N)!”

Startled, you looked at Sakumo. “Yes?”

“We’re an uneven group this time. And as you came in late,” a little wink, betraying the older man and his soft side, “your punishment will be that you have to train with my helper Yamato here. Is that alright?”

Oh, that was more than alright. Relieved, your face broke into a full grin. “Sure.”

“Aaah, you are way too happy about that.” Still, the amusement at the situation was oh-so-clear in Sakumo’s eyes. The older man elbowed Yamato, then pointed at you. “Bring her up to speed and show her how to fall correctly. I don’t want (Y/N) to be hurt on her very first day.”

“What are you doing here?” Smiling, you walked closer to Yamato when Sakumo turned around to teach the pairs which had formed over the minutes. “I thought you were supposed to help Naruto?”

At that, the man sighed a deep heavy sigh which spoke from your very soul. “Yeah. And he was also supposed to come alone, but even though he wanted to get away from Sasuke, guess who Naruto brought with him…”

“No way.”

“Yes way.” Yamato shook his head. “I seriously don’t understand those teenagers. Am I too old?”

“Maybe, we both are.” Then, looking around, you shrugged and shook your head. “Alright, then show me the ropes, so then I at least get something out of this day.”

Seeing Yamato’s relieved smile made your heart jump in your chest. Little did you know that this was far from the last time you would feel the telltale jumping of the organ in the next hour. Because, as it turned out, as this was your first self-defense course, you needed lots and lots of help. Namely, physical help.

It started so innocently. At first, Yamato seemed just as shy to initiate direct physical contact, but after an extensive ten minutes of cardio exercises and him handing you a white vest like his own, he wanted to show you how to fall and roll over the ground correctly. At first, unsuccessfully.

“Okay, no. This won’t work.” Shaking his head, Yamato looked at you on the ground. For the fourth time, he tried to demonstrate by doing the exercise himself, and for the fourth time, your form wasn’t correct. Like he had done the previous three times, he reached out and you took his hand. You always felt like a feather when he pulled you up, so light and easily handled that it was exhilarating. A sensation you couldn’t get enough of, to be completely honest.

As you brushed yourself off, you watched how he shook his head, more to himself than anyone else. “What do you propose then?”

To your surprise, a soft blush started to rise on his face. His eyes wouldn’t meet yours, but when he stepped closer with an unvoiced question in his eyes, you understood. In an instant, you felt how the warmth spread across your face. But—and that was probably somehow important—you didn’t avoid his gaze and Yamato didn’t break the connection either.

The world around you sunk away as he stepped closer. Close enough that the rough hard fabric of his white vest brushed over your back. His warmth made you swallow a thick ball of nervousness (and yes) anticipation down. Being so close to Yamato, being enveloped by his gentleness and being guided by his strong hands was… a lot. Almost too much.

“Alright…” His voice was too close and yet not close enough. Warm breath tussled some wisps of your hair as he stepped even closer. “Let me… Alright.”

His hands carefully placed themselves on the crook of your waist. Not an indecent touch, far from it. But a delicious shudder nevertheless wandered down your back at the feeling of his heat and touch permeating the thick vest.

“Okay,” his voice was still close, ruffling more hair around your ears, “the basic stance. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart.”

“Okay.” Quickly, you adjusted your stance. “What else?”

“Uhm… For-For falling, you have to roll over your shoulder.” One hand rose and tentatively touched your left, then right shoulder. “It’s not a classical roll, but you mostly just use one arm to shore yourself, the other kind of… leads the way.”

“Okay,” you breathed, “alright.”

“So…” Again, his hand touched your right shoulder. “I guess we can start with a roll over your right side. When you go in for a barrel roll, you lean more towards the right side. Now, we can try it, slowly though.”

“Okay.” Again, you nodded. Maybe, it really would be easier. For a wild second, you fantasized of Yamato doing the barrel roll with you, his hard body flushed against yours and safely catching you if anything would go wrong. But then you shook your head and didn’t give a single sign that you were missing the innocent contact when Yamato stepped away from you. One look over your shoulder and you smiled, trying to not look too shaken up. Gods, really? The contact hadn’t been that sensual and yet your heart was thumping and you could feel your hands shaking a bit.

A simple barrel roll. Couldn’t be that hard. It was already stupid you spent so much time on failing to perform some controlled falling. A deep breath in and a deep breath out, then you tried to roll over your shoulder. Your back hurt a little bit, but you told yourself that it was more because of the time you spent at a desk working away than the unusual movements and activity.

One last breath in, and you lowered your head, shoulders and body, in that exact order, towards the softened ground. The world rolled by, and when you came back up on your feet and knees, you instantly looked towards Yamato.

“And?” you asked.

He still didn’t look satisfied, even though there was also a hint of relief painted all over his features. “Still not right, but better than the last times.”

“Ayy, progress.” With a grin flashing over your face, you pumped your fist into the air. “By the way, can I ask why learning to fall correctly is so important?”

Apparently, a question Yamato waited for. “To avoid injuries, get to know the current limitations of your body, your flexibility and to see where your skills are at. It’s a pillar of self-defense to make sure that the user is unharmed throughout the training.”

“Sounds really important.” With a low grunt, you took Yamato’s hand once more to be pulled up onto your own two feet. This time, you instantly realized that Yamato miscalculated his strength. You nearly flew up, up and right into his chest. With a soft huff, he caught you. And the world seemed to pause.

There you were. One hand still captured in his gentle fingers, the other arm hanging by your side. Yamato’s face was so close to yours, the tip of your nose nearly touching yours. The other arm was slung around your waist to stabilize you, but in the process, you were also slanted against his chest. Just a few sheets of paper would be able to cut the space between your face and his, and for some moments, your eyes automatically dropped down to his mouth. And what a mouth. Lovely lips, looking like they were soft and rough at the same time, with the tip of his tongue peeking out for just a second, only to disappear just as fast. The small motion didn’t make things better.

But when you managed to rip your eyes away from the promise right in front of you, and met his eyes once more, you nearly sucked in a breath. There was a fire burning in his dark iris and only because you were finally so close and wrapped in his arms, you were allowed to see it.

Then, one of the other women shouted and someone landed with a heavy ‘thud’ on the ground. Enough to break the bubble around Yamato and you. Like thunder cracked in the sky, you two broke away from each other, already mumbling apologies and—in your case, at least—throwing nervous glances at the man. No, he seemed more bothered trying to rearrange his white vest and shuffling his feet.

But then. Oh, then. As you were busy pulling down your own shirt while your brain was as empty as before whenever you got too close to him, Yamato stole a quick glance himself. And the same fire was still burning in them; the same fire of which you knew burned also in your own eyes.

“We should…” A helpless laugh fell from your mouth. “We should go back to… To whatever we were doing before.”

“Yeah.” Like you hoped, he started to smile at your words. “Definitely. But… can you quickly remind me?”

“Of what we were doing?”

“Exactly.”

At that, another chuckle rang through the air. “Oh man, I wish I could help you with that. But it seems that I also have sudden memory problems.”

Maybe, you two would have continued to banter if not for Sakumo, who sneaked up on you like a white wolf in the middle of a snow storm.

“Finished with all the preparations?” His own grin awoke a primal part of you, something resembling a small, fluffy animal, always on the watch for a bigger predator with sharp teeth. But then, the impression was already gone, and Sakumo with his long grey hair and the small wrinkles around his eyes which told about many smiles and laughter. The older man could be scary, you were now aware of that, but the hint of the supposed danger was just as quickly gone as it came. He nodded at you, only to instantly follow up with a clap on Yamato’s shoulder. Measured at the small wince running over his features, it hurt. A lot.

“Alright, if you two are finished, then we can start introducing you to a few throws and punches! And what I always like to point out, nothing is more trusted than a good old poke in the eyes. Remember that, okay?”

Before you had any time to answer, Sakumo already turned around and instructed the group of women to search for new partners. This time, a friendly looking brunette walked up to you. Her striking red eyes —those had to be contact lenses— smiled alongside her mouth as she reached out her hand for you to shake it.

“My name is Kurenai,” she said and when you took her hand, the lingering softness of her skin together with some strange calluses and the strength of her grip immediately made you grateful for doing so, “and you look like you could use some help?”

~ X ~

The lesson passed by fast after that. After some more coaching and training, you managed to fall and roll in ways which apparently was satisfactory enough for Sakumo and Yamato. Training together with Kurenai was also a blast as the woman was obviously well-versed in martial arts and gave you one or two very helpful tips to avoid being hit or kicked by her. You were especially proud of the moment you managed to avoid her hits for an entire sparring round… even though the two of you were supposed to work on your throwing techniques. Still, when you looked over, with your chest heaving and heart beat so loud it thundered in your ears and you locked eyes with Yamato… Seeing his thumbs-up and the smile of soft, brown eyes made you smile even harder.

When you managed to turn your head away from him, you met Kurenai’s curious eyes. One look and she whistled through her teeth, with her curiosity and needed to know what was going on between Yamato and you that was already kindling.

It was no surprise to you that she inquired about it. What surprised you though, was her asking for your phone number, so you could stay in contact. Gladly, you gave it to her, together with the promise to show up next week too.

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