Tayuya and Kin Get Rough

[flute_fucker]

Characters: Tayuya and Kin
Time: Late afternoon
Setting: The forest between Sound and Konoha
Rating: R. Because it's Tayuya.  Really.
Summary: Tayuya and Kin are on their way to Konoha.  Wacky hijinks ensue.  No, really.

Tayuya paused to brush the hair from her face, clinging sweaty from hours of walking under the sun that grew progressively warmer as they neared Konoha, or so it felt. Thick forest surrounded her and the sky above was streaked wispy white amidst the blue, an unwelcome change from the north's more cloudly climate. She had to admit, though, it was better than Orochimaru's claustrophobic den, where it always felt like snakes were clinging at her throat. Getting out once in a while was the best part of her missions, and she didn't envy Kin, who didn't have the skill yet to be regularly sent out. The rawhide strap of her rucksack bit through her shirt and into her shoulder, making her shift it uncomfortably. Behind her, she could hear Kin's trudging steps and sighed. Might as well give themselves a break.

"Oi, Kin! Let's a take a fuckin' break, okay?" she yelled back over her shoulder. Without waiting for the other girl's assent or disapproval, she marched herself over to a shady tree and sat down. Her pack clanged heavily next to her, heavy with rations and weapons. "Come on, sit your ass down!"

With a flick of her thumb, she pulled open her pack. Inside, gleaming and polished and beautiful, was her precious flute. She pulled it out, religiously checking its surface for scuffs from the travel and, when she deemed it worthy, put her lips to it and began to play. This was not one of her mission's melodies, designed to lull the senses or project nightmares into the target's mind. Just a lilting, easy melody to slowly relax her nerves.

Sit your ass down... Kin mocked in her head as she tossed down her bag. It was lighter weight than Tayuya's, she was sure, but was glad they were getting a break. Sitting several feet from Tayuya, nearly across from the slightly older woman under another tree, her dark pooling eyes watched fingers move and the pads cover tiny holes. How people played music, Kin didn't understand. Being able to play an instrument was a gift people were born with, some could do it naturally, others could learn, and then there were those that just couldn't do either. She had her own music, her little bells, and whatever she did in her mind. Oft she found herself humming in her head, just because it was better than the never ending silence that was always around her. But this, it was nice. Even if Tayuya was the one that had been tired and called for a break because it was she who wanted to sit...

After a time she blinked and leaned against the tree, legs extending out in front of her and crossing right over left at the ankles. Her arms hung loosely over her stomach, either hand on the opposite side as she relaxed and stared at the redhead. Wow... she wasn't swearing or yelling at anyone. That was a first Kin had seen in some time, she imagined. Left hand rising, she tossed one of the many long raven black strands of hair from her face as the breeze blew on through the wood and pulled at their hair. Sighing, she scooped up the mass of strands and untied the purple ribbon on the end. After shaking her hair out a moment she started to tie it once more, eyes flicking up toTayuya.

"Tired then?" She asked with a smirk. It was all she could really say, as she wasn't the one to start the verbal fights.

The music dancing from her fingertips as she played, intoxicating, finer than all the rich sake and all the rich wine the men she'd been sent to kill had ever offered. She didn't even have to think, her fingers knew exactly where to go, exactly when, never pausing. Birds chirped on the outside of her hearing, wind swayed, even her pulse and Kin's sublte movements started blending into a single song, ringing out from her heart and from her soul. This was her heaven, her Nirvana, better than anything she could aquire with Orochimaru's other teachings. Her lips curved into a smile around the flute, a private moment of joy.

Until Kin had to go and fucking ruin it.

A last note withered and died on the end of her lips, and she lowered the flute with a solemn slowness, eyes creaking open at the same place to burn daggers into Kin's. One hand tightened around the flute's smooth surface and the other lifted up, clenching into a fist. All save the middle finger. The placid smile had vanished instantly, replaced with a tense frown, all about her going sour and harsh and losing those vestiges of peace. She was a warrior again, hard-edged and calloused and bitter, and Kin was on the end of her sword. Which, in this case as in so many, happened to be her tongue as well.

"Fuck you, bitch," she snarled.

"Aren't musicians supposed to be able to play without allowing distraction?" Kin asked, a small smirk on her lips as she looked across the shaded area at her friend. Were they ever friends? She wasn't sure, and couldn't easily determine as they hardly seemed like people who would get along. Maybe they were friends, just an awkward pair that couldn't agree to even disagree on any one thing at a given time.

"But, I did happen to like it." She stated, eyes looking up distractedly into the tree branches and green leaves. A compliment? God forbid.

"I guess you're just that damn annoying," Tayuya growled back, huffing angrily and throwing her gaze away in disgust. She didn't even know why she let Orochimaru send Kin along with her on this mission; the girl was skinny and unskilled and irritating. And yet, they still managed to end up being together so damn much of the time. Maybe it's that they were two of the only women in Sound,Tayuya pondered. Or maybe Kin was just clinging to her like a miserable cold. Honestly, she preferred the latter.

And then Kin had to go and be a bitch and compliment her, what the fuck was that? So Tayuya scoffed and picked up her flute again. "Well, maybe I'll play a little more. Just because I'm too fucking nice to you."

"Nice... not the word I was thinking of." She smirked and stood up, hand resting on the cool bark of the tree as she looked up at it. This tree, it was a climbing tree. Kin wasn't sure why she felt the need to climb it either, but it was nagging at her saying "climb me" and so she started. Or tried. It just happened that she was rather short and thus, couldn't yet. With a groan she turned and looked at Tayuya , an idea coming to mind. Quickly she stood by the red haired woman's feet and looked down at her, arms hanging at her side with a face of expectancy.

"Give me a hand." Kin said in a half asking, half telling tone. "I want to climb that tree."

And she was just starting to get the rhythm again. Fuck, if Kin wasn't annoying as all hell sometimes. Tayuya glared up at her, forehead furrowed and jaw set defiantly. She stood up slowly with her assassin's grace, hating the thought of looking up at Kin and meeting her eye to eye when she stood to her full height. Crossing her arms over her chest, she jabbed at Kin roughly with the butt of her flute, scoffing.

"Where the hell did that come from, you crazy bitch?" she scoffed. "Climb a goddamn tree? Gimme one reason why I should fucking help you!"

Kin looked Tayuya in the face, eye to eye as it were, and then kicked her in the shin with her right foot. "Oops," one could hear her mutter before turning away. Her hair fluttered behind her in a swirl as she turned in the light breeze. Good thing she was wearing pants, though they were more like tights or clingy cotton worn on her legs to cover them as on her upper body was a long tunic like shirt in a dark green color.

"Give me a boost." She stated. "I'll only be a minute. Let's go!"

Tayuya just sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers. "You are so on fucking...opium or some shit. God damn."

But she walked forward, anyway, after dropping her flute carefully back into her pack. Staring up at the nearest branch, she looked back at Kin, then sighed and looped her hands together like a cradle. Sighing irritatedly, she waited for Kin to move forward so she could be done with this insane nonsense. "What are you waiting for, bitch? Come on, I don't have all fuckin' day to play games with you."

"Swear at me again and you'll get a kick in the head." Kin hissed as she put her left foot on Tayuya's hands. Her right foot bounced a moment before leaving the ground she her hands grabbed hold of the thick branch. She was glad she was light, otherwise it would just give her partner another thing to bitch about. And Tayuya said Kin was bitchy. Ha.

"Watch your face." The younger then stated, legs bending at the knees before going up between her arms and hooking on to the branch. Her hair, hanging below her, swung around and nearly whipped at Tayuya's skin before finally it was gone out of the way up in the large plant with the girl. Sometimes it paid to have long hair, other times not. This was one of them. But, up in the tree now she didn't care. The branches were closer and thus at an easier reach. Moving she made her way up two more branches before there was a snap even under her small feathery body.

"Kick me and I'll drop you," Tayuya spat back, grunting and holding up Kin's weight, pushing lightly to let her get closer to the branch. "Damn, for such a skinny bitch, you sure weight a hell of a lot." She was exaggerating, but couldn't let Kin get too comfortable. She might, heaven forbid, start actually likingTayuya, and she couldn't have that.

As Kin pulled herself up, Tayuya backed away from her swinging limbs, not trusting the girl to not give her a goddamn concussion. She had to admit, though, the younger moved with a surprising and admiral grace as she worked her way up the limbs of the tree. Even with her needlessly long mane of hair, she didn't get it tangled or caught, something Tayuya wasn't so entirely sure she could duplicate. After all, while she had trained in womanly elegance and honed her wiles as best she could without gagging, she had never been a graceful one beyond her assassin's skills, and tree climbing was not nearly her forte.

"Just holler when you want down!" Tayuya yelled up at her. "I wanna watch you fall on your bony ass!"

"How about not." Kin spat as she ignored the crack and just moved to another branch. Figuring it had only been that one, it was no longer a problem if she just moved away. But damn, was she wrong; so... so wrong. This branch was even weaker than the last and as her hand grabbed at it, pulling herself up with either foot on two other rather slim branches, it snapped and gave way.

"Fuck!" She screamed, trying to grab at another branch on her way down, but to no avail. It was a fruitless effort, as she headed towards the earth with a shocking speed. Somehow, in her progress, she missed the majority of the branches and only snapped the smaller thin protrusions before falling on something. Or... someone. As she did, her head made a thunking sound against the large tree root, but luckily it would only cause a bump as she'd gotten her hands mostly behind her head. Laying there, her eyes looked up to see stars and bright lights as she wheezed for the breath knocked from her lungs and her back arching as she lay over Tayuya.

The snapping of branches and Kin's undignified squawk should have been enough warning for Tayuya, but she aparently wasn't sharp enough today. It happened surprisingly fast, and before she realized it, she was lying on the ground with the sky consuming her frame of vision. Then sensation returned and she let out a low, miserable groan, shoving roughly at Kin. She'd be bruised, battered, and fuck if Kin wasn't elbowing her in the boob with her sharp, bony ass elbows. Bitch badly needed some meat on her bones, especially if she was thinking of pulling this shit again. Not to mention the fact that she was hot and sweaty, which did not help Tayuya with her own climate issues.

"Oh, you fucking whore," she wheezed. "Get off my right now before I snap your chicken neck, I swear to fucking God."

Kin took a deep breath and slowly rolled off of Tayuya to find herself sprawling on the dirty with a lump of gnarled root under her thighs. "Hmmmm." She groaned, blinking again and looking at Tayuya. What had happened? There was snapping and falling, and everything else was a blob within the girls mind.

"Sorry." She said vaguely, shaking her head and rubbing at her eyes with red and somewhat bloodied hands. Her vision came back into focus, and there was Tayuya in her red anger. Goodie. "I didn ' mean ta fall outta the tree." Kin said, sounding almost drunk for all her short and scrambled words. Hair, askew and tangled, clothes, ripped slightly and torn, body... one piece. All was saved!

"Yeah, you better not have meant to," Tayuya growled, standing up on wobbling legs to try and brush herself off. Apparently, though, it was a little too soon for her fall-addled brain and she staggered back again, tripping on a root and falling on top of Kin. The wind rushed out of her lungs and she cursed as soon as she got it back. "Oh, you are such a fucking whore."

Kin let out a cry of pain as a rock dug into her floating rib area, her left arm coming around and elbowing Tayuya in the side.

"Get off!" She screamed in pain, feeling warm blood starting to rush to point of impact. This time it hadn't been her fault, so why she was the whore she couldn't determine. But then again, she could never really figure out where ever Tayuya was going with her rants. Some days she was a whore, others she was a bitch... It all was the same most of the time.

The elbow in her side was a surprise and it made Tayuya yelp, then swear again. She scrambled off Kin as fast as she could, rubbing absently at her abused ribs. She looked over at the younger girl with a sour face. "I didn't mean to trip, you whiny bitch! It's not like you'refuckin' bleeding or anything, so I don't see why you gotta be fuckin' hitting me! Shit."

Gingerly, she tried standing up again, this time pressing one hand against the tree to hold herself up in case her balance went on vacation again. "Come on, get your ass up already, you big baby."

Kin had managed to sit up, standing however was another idea entirely. Her hand pressed to her side as she looked down, regaining her breath, and pulled her fingers away from the cloth. They were only a light shade of red, but the fabric was ripped and bloody colored on the flap which fell over when her hand moved.

"Not bleeding, hm?" She asked, glancing up to Tayuya and slowly got to her feet. That was a nasty hole right under her rib, but it wasn't terrible. Not that she could see. Sighing her hands started to gather the hem of her tunic, rolling it slightly, and then pulled it up to reveal all of her flat tummy and lower ribs. The skin was laden with bruises here and there, a small splotch of blood from where the rock had torn her skin, and various little scrapes. It wasn't so bad, and as Kin continued to hold up her tunic she glanced to Tayuya.

"Do you have a bandage so I can wrap it?" She asked.

Quirking an eyebrow, Tayuya looked over and sucked in a breath as she looked at the wound. It was on the nasty side, and there wasn't a shortage of minor scratches, either. "Okay, so that might be something to bitch about. Gimme a minute, I'll get something to wrap that."

She sighed and walked over, albeit slowly, to where her rucksack lay, rummaging through it until she came up with a wrap of gauze and a couple pins to hold it down. She'd packed them in case of an ambush or a fight on the way, but it looked like she'd be using it a little earlier than anticipated. Well, circumstances had a tendency of stretching beyond what she expected...Looking over her shoulder, she called, "Still think you can walk? Or do I hafta go over there and mommy your ass?"

"Mommy me." Kin said sarcastically as she released herself from the tree and made her way over to Tayuya after dropping the tunic. She only winced once, and when she reached the woman she leaned on her left shoulder and again lifted up the fabric. What did you say in this sort of situation? "I'm sorry"? That just didn't seem right, as Kin had nothing to be sorry for. It had been an accident after all, and really she should not have fallen out of that blasted tree. Kin was a pro-tree climber, having been doing it since she learned archery. If she could climb a tree, she had better firing points after all.

Holding out a hand she took the gauze and, with a deep breath put it down on the wound and looked to Tayuya. She'd have to wrap it for her, as her hands were full.

Sighing, Tayuya took hand of the gauze and started to loop it around Kin's middle. Blossoms of crimson instantly started appearing on the surface over the wound, but she kept rolling, and slowly the red faded. Clucking her tongue, she looked up at Kin. "What the fuck would you do without me, huh? Shit, fallin' out of a tree like that. Coulda got knocked stone fucking cold out, y'know. Taken in by bandits! Robbed, raped, killed, who fuckin' knows? I gotta whip you into fuckin ' shape, god damn." She wasn't sure why the fuck she was suddenly babbling, but it felt like the right thing to say, even though she so wasn't worried about the skinny bitch. Why would she be worried about someone so goddamn annoying, huh?

With a last safety pin, she cinched the tight bindings, and patted Kin on the stomach lightly. "There, good as fuckin' new."

"Aw. Does someone care about me?" Kin said in a babying tone as she looked at Tayuya with a smirk. Letting her tunic drop she carefully picked up her bag, fingers looping around the straps as one foot left the ground so she didn't have to bend. Standing then, she returned her gaze to Tayu and laughed softly, her side aching but it was just a moment she couldn't pass up.

"But hell," she then snapped. "I wouldn't have fallen in the first place if you hadn't helped me into the tree."

"Pfft, you fucking wish, bitch," Tayuya growled, grabbing her own back by the rawhide strap after doing everything up again. "I wouldn't have given half a damn if you were lying unconscious out here, you're just no good to me as dead weight. And since Orochimaru might be pissed if I come back without you, I better patch you back together, I guess."

"Only 'cuz you're too fuckin' short," she muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes as she started walking ahead. "Now get your ass in gear, we're losing daylight."

"In gear." Kin said with a smirk, trying very hard not to laugh. Tayuya was an odd sort at best, but she made Kin laugh more than anyone else she knew. The boys, they were just guys that she worked with and were nothing special to her. Sure, they were friends, but only because they were teammates. Kin was friends with Tayuya because she liked her, believe it or not, and she felt that -even if she hated to admit it- Tayuya liked her too.

"So where we going again?"

"...What's so fuckin' funny?" Tayuya grumbled, pouting at Kin's look. She's was a crazy bitch, and annoying as fuck, but Tayuya couldn't really stay too mad at her most of the time. She chocked it up to female bonding, even though she knew that was probably bullshit. Maybe it was just that Kin wasn't as fuckin' crazy as almost everyone else in Sound, lacking extra arms or creepy twins.

"We're goin' to Konoha, dumbass. I have to remind you? Shit."

"I thought we had something else to do first." Kin said as she sighed and took a long step to walk beside Tayuya. Fingers playing with her hair, eyes flicking up and down as she went from pathway to hair and back several times. She was attempting to take out the twigs, knots, and general dirt clumps but that also wasn't going well. Nothing, actually, seemed to be going well. With a small yelp of pain she yanked out the ribbon, once beautiful, and tossed it aside. The majority of her hair fell behind her, but the piece she held she worked on untangling.

"Ow. Jesus." She muttered, working at the strands. "Fricken... ah." Kin's voice was no more than a whisper, but definitely loud enough to be heard by those several yards off.

"Nah, we're just on some recon shit," Tayuya sighed. Fuck if this wasn't gonna be a boring mission. But Orochimaru had to make sure Akatsuki wasn't getting to antsy for a territory grab, and it didn't hurt to know what the enemy soldiers were packing in advance. So, here they were, marching the rodes from Sound to Konoha and getting in constant fights along the way as the only kind of entertainment. Tayuya just wished she could sit down and start playing again, but then Kin might get another dumbass tree-climbing idea or something, and they'd end up fucking dead. So she walked.

And sighed at Kin's grumbles from behind her.

Finally growing impatient, she turned her dead to see just what was going on, and sighed irritably. "Why don't you just fucking cut that mess? It's nothing but trouble, believe me."

"I'll never cut my hair." Kin said defiantly as she continued to pick bits and pieces out of it. "There is reason it's long. Obviously not for my health." She stated with a small sigh. "Once I get to a shower it will be fine." Her voice replied, finding no need to explain the reason for the hair at all. Even if Tayuya asked, she wasn't sure she'd share. Kin considered it, but just didn't know if it was time yet to tell people. Even Orochimaru-sama had no idea why she let her hair grow and grow, only cutting it an inch to trim off splitting ends.

"Maybe you should grow your hair out. Then it's even more noticeable!"

"Well, why the fuck not?" Tayuya grumbled, tossing her own short hair back over her shoulder so it would stop clinging so much to her neck. Hell, She felt like she needed a trim, so she didn't understand how Kin dealt with that huge mess. "And good luck with that shower thing! I've nofuckin ' idea how long it's gonna be 'til we get one of those. You might be better off jumping in a river, if there's one big enough for all that hair not to fuckin' clog it," she added, grinning wickedly and just a bit ferociously.

"I like my hair just how it is, thank you! And at least it's better than being fuckin' boring."

"That was cold." Kin said honestly but was smirking all the while. Shaking her head she turned away and then made a "ha" sound and looked back to Tayuya . Off ahead of them was water, maybe just a small pond from recent rains, or a river, she couldn't tell. All Kin was sure of was that she heard trickling water. Hadn't there been a river of some sort on a map nearby anyhow? It had seemed pretty big on the image, and if it was in proper proportion they had fresh-ish water!

Tayuya snorted and then followed Kin's gaze. "What, and that's gonna be a nice warm bath? Toughen the hell up, whiner. But, I guess we're gonna have to stop again soon, huh? So you can fix your lovely locks?" She snorted again, not admitting that she'd like some water for her tea, or a nice shady spot to play her flute. Hell if she'd let Kin know she wasn't just snarking for snark's sake.

Kin felt rather smug at the moment. There wasn't really another word to describe it, unless one were to get abstract. That wasn't needed. Kin had found water for food and wash, that was all that mattered at this point. The water would make for some nice tea after these pains, and for any sort of cooking needing to be done. Afterward, just standing in the cool flowing liquid would be a relief. It was getting hotter as the day wore on, and even as night came it just grew muggy and humid over plain hot. Those two together were far, far worse than hot.

"We should stop in about an hour. I'm guessing it'll be dark then."

"Yeah. yeah. alright," Tayuya mock grumbled, inwardly relieved that she'd get a chance to rest and enjoy some relaxation around twilight. Unconsciously, her path started to steer closer to the source of water, wherever it was. She was as eager as Kin for a drink and a bath, whether she'd admit it or no, and so the trickling sound of water guided her path. At the edge of her vision, too, she could see the sun starting to just barely sink below the horizon, and was glad they'd found it in such good timing. The forest was thick and unfamiliar, and finding water in the dark was a dangerous proposition.

The hour past, not even but just forty-five minutes, and Kin had said hardly a word. She was tired, mentally, and so found nothing much to say. She'd yawned often but otherwise said very little in their trek. Also, she figured Tayuya deserved some sort of silence other than when she was asleep. She had helped her patch the wound, and caught her fall. Though, that had been on accident...

"Finally." Kin said softly, setting her bag down and sitting on the cool ground. Her body felt disgusting, the muggy air clinging to her skin and the humidity having caused her to sweat against her tight clothes. With another yawn she looked up to Tayuya before pulling several cooking materials from her bag, including some sort of ramen noodle packs.

Tayuya sighed with relief as she dropped against the grass, shrugging off her pack against and reverently removing her flute, tea kettle, and tea bags. There was a little of sticks and leaves all around the trees, so she'd not be wanting for a fire, even if she'd have to make it. Sighing she looked over at Kin, and wrinkled her nose exaggeratedly.

"Ugh, you reek," she growled. "You take the first bath, please. I'll...make a fire or some shit. Just...go. You're killing me." She could be nice sometimes, really, even if she had to be a bitch about it.

"As if you don't." Kin said but got up and started off the several yards to the water. There was a sigh as she had knelt and put her fingertips in the cool water.

"Tayuya!" She called. "Are you sure you want to wait?" She asked, not really caring about the naked thing. The water was perfect, no... beyond perfect. There was no word, it was just pure bliss in a liquid form large enough to swim in. Even Kin, who had a good will power, couldn't resist the river and so she shimmied out of her dirty leggings and pulled the tunic off over her head -only after glancing around to make sure no one was around besides Tayu -, and removed her undergarments. Setting all the things aside she let herself fall with a small splash, a tiny wince leaving her but the icy coolness in the hot air was so nice it hardly mattered.

Tayuya raised an eyebrow as she threw a pile of sticks together in the middle of a circle of dirt. "What, you invitin' me in with you?" She didn't really mind too much, being naked around Kin or whatever, but had to admit it was odd. A little too...friendly-bonding compared to what she'd usually expect from Kin. Maybe she was just trying to extend an olive branch, or some shit like that. She shrugged off her outer shirt, thinner piece of cotton under it that was thoroughly sweaty, if only to make herself more comfortable. "I'll warn ya, though, you better not try anything funny or I will slap the shit out of you." Her shoes went next, as if she was actually preparing to bathe and not just getting comfortable. Did she actually want to have "bonding time" with that skinny bitch? Naaah...

The swimming nin laughed loudly, the water splashing about as she floated around. "Oh no! Don't tell me the great mouth of soap is afraid of being naked." Kin teased and then gasped fakely. "Tayuya is afraid. Tayuya is afraid ." She chanted, hands cupping around her mouth to send the sound toward the woman and make sure she got the message. Afterward she turned over and dove under the water, and swam several yards before coming up. Shaking her head she wiped water from her eyes and looked toward shore. Would she come? Not that she really cared, but it was just so nice why dirty it all up herself?

Growling angrily and with color flaring in her cheeks, Tayuya stood up abruptly and chucked a shoe in the general direction of Kin's head before undoing her leggings, shoving them down against the ground stepping out. As she walked towards the lake she gradually shed more clothes in a trail from camp, naked as she walked to the lake's edge. "I ain't fuckin' scared, you bitch," she snarled, crossing her arms defiantly. "Look at me, naked and not scared."

Grumbling, she stepped into the water, groaning throatily at how divine it felt against her skin, so icy and pure. "Ahh, that is fuckin' nice..."

Kin laughed, kicking the water as she floated along in little circles. "I told you." She said with a grin. "Now that wasn't so hard." She stated, trying very hard not to snicker at Tayuya's words. No one tells people to look at them when they're naked. That was just weird. Kin, luckily, averted her eyes for both of their sakes.

"Tayuya's a baby." She said to herself in a sing-song voice. "She hates getting we-et."

"You are such a fucking bitch," Tayuya sighed, more resigned than angry, and sunk herself deeper into the water. It was immensely soothing, although she kind of wished she'd gotten her tea made first. "And I don't hate getting wet, I just didn't want to see your skinny ass naked. I don't like watching skeletons swim, you know. It's creepy."

"Well then why the hell were you watching in the first place?" Kin retorted back, her head and shoulders really the only thing over the water as she treaded in the liquid. The majority of her hair had sunk, it just too heavy when wet, and so it floated around layers under the surface. Several times Kin had been "attacked" by her hair and splashed, moving away quickly as if she thought it were some sort of animal. That, even she would call stupid.

"But I'm not that thin." She then stated, after thinking it over for a minute. "Maybe you're just fatter than I am."

An angry flush rose to Tayuya's cheeks at the very insinuation and she huffed loudly, glaring down at the younger girl. "I'm not fuckin' fat, damn it! I just have curves, unlike some people, because that's what men like. It helps my fuckin' missions, so shut your goddamn mouth." Crossing her arms, she sunk back into the water under her chin was submerged. She didn't think she was overly sensitive about just about anything, but she wasn't gonna stand for that kind of insulting, no fucking way.

"I never said you were 'fat'." Kin said, shaking her head. "I said you were fatter than I was, which means I'm just thinner than you. But I'm not a stick!" She stated, treading the water still before moving slightly closer to Tayuya subconsciously as she spoke. She hadn't meant to be insulting, but there was no other way around saying it in Kin's mind. "Fat" had all kinds of meaning, and she would never use the obese sort of "fat" against Tayuya. Then she paused.

"What are you saying then?" She asked, brows raised in question. Men, ha.

"Yeah, well, you're pretty damn bony," Tayuya mumbled sulkily, only bristling a little bit as Kin drew closer. She briefly entertained the idea that she'd overreacted to Kin's comment, but swiftly brushed it off. Overreact? Her? Impossible. She was pretty much infallible, so Kin just worded things pretty fuckin' poorly. Dumbass.

"What do you think I'm saying, dumbass?" she laughed. "I'm way hotter than you, obviously. You could never seduce anybody with your little chicken legs."

"Why do I have to in the first place?" Kin wanted to know, feet touching the ground as she had moved closer to shore so she could stand. "I don't see why I have to seduce anyone. You can do it, you can be the whore. I'll just sit back and kill them when you're done fooling around." She shot with a smirk and glare.

By now, as she stood on the shore, the waters reflecting surface just reached under her arm, her shoulders exposed to the humidity above the cool liquid. More of her hair clung to her neck and the start of her shoulder blades, the rest still hanging below the water. Her eyes had surpassed Tayuya, looking off into the distance at the moon rising over head casting a milky light upon the forest and river in which they occupied.

"Sex doesn't appeal to me, so I don't see why it should matter."

Tayuya snarled softly, flipping Kin the bird. "Go fucking die." Just because her gender and her occupation made it so that she had to abuse her sexual wiles, it doesn't mean she wanted Kin pointing it out. She hated that part of her job enough as it was, hated Orochimaru for making her the whore.

"And it should matter," she cut in sharply. "Because as soon as you stop looking like a fuckin' 10-year-old boy with too much hair, you're gonna have to do the same thing I do. We're girl-assassins, bitch, so get used to playing the part of the fuckin' prostitute. It'd do you better in the long run to get the fuck over it, alright?"

"Fine, I'm over it. I'm over it!" Kin said defensively as she held up her hands, feeling rather shocked that Tayuya had yelled so much. She was fully aware it was coming, and fast as she finally had started to grow up after all these years, she just liked to be ignorant of it. Actually the idea rather scared her, in a way, as she really didn't want to be that close to any man in general. That was just too close for her comfort. She would give it to Tayuya that she did wonder about it sometimes, but she didn't want it, not really.

"Do you like it?" Kin then asked, out of the blue as she pulled her eyes back to her teammate and ignored the moon.

Rolling her eyes, Tayuya just snorted again. "Yeah, I'm sure you are. God, you are such a fuckin' virgin, it is not even funny." And, the truth was, Tayuya could easily see in Kin's eyes how uncomfortable the subject made her. It was both vindicating, and a bit sad, because she knew Kin might even end up like her; bitter, nasty, violent. Hateful of everything, especially intimacy. It was sobering. But then, of course, she asked her stupid-ass, so-very-virginal question.

"Pfft, I usually try to kill the fuckheads before they can get their pants down," she scoffed. "Most of 'em couldn't fuck their way out of a wet paper bag, anyway. Not that they could make a fuckin' paper bag, wet, either. Shit."

Kin smirked, trying not to laugh. It was rather funny, and it made her feel better. Kin could kill them off pretty quickly herself, given the chance. Her arrows flew like bullets, and with her magic practices going on they might turn out to be even more deadly. She however, in the end, sighed and started out. Back to Tayuya she grabbed her dirty tunic and wrapped it around her body, picking up the rest of her clothes on the way by, and quietly made her way back. There, she pulled out new clothes and dressed quickly after tying her mass of hair up into some sort of soaking wet ponytail-loop on her head. Water dripped down her back and seeped into her new tunic from the bandage and hair -which she would eventually wring out-.

Sitting down and leaning forward slightly, a sharp pain shooting through her right side but going ignored, and started up a fire. There came several snapping sounds before the crackling of twigs under the new hot flame. She looked rather sad, if not withdrawn, and it was an odd sight to see on Kin. Normally she was just talky, somewhat cocky and smirking all the time...

Tayuya sighed as Kin walked off, relaxing in the dark pond until she saw a fire start up in her peripheral vision. Torn between tea and food or the relaxing coolness, she eventually decided on getting out. The air was starting to get cool even with the humidity of the region, and if she didn't get out soon, she might get a cold, or some bullshit like that. So she pulled herself out of the water, shaking some of the moisture from her hair, and walked naked back to camp, carefully dodging thorns and sharp twigs all the while. The wind caressed her damp skin, making her shiver slightly, but the warmth of firelight slowly enveloped her as she drew near. She gave Kin one look, scowling at her solemn expression, and walked over to her bag.

Out of it, she picked up the tea kettle and teabags, and a flask of water so she didn't have to walk back to the water's edge just yet. Pouring water into the metal kettle, she pulled out a delicate, folding metal stand and set it above the fire, kettle resting atop it. Sighing happily at the growing warmth, she leaned back against the tree, rough bite of bark almost soothing, and picked up her flute again.

Kin blinked, looking up and then shaking her head. It was almost a stupid thing to say, so she refrained from telling Tayuya that she was still in fact naked. Surely the woman knew, she was sitting on twigs with a bare ass! However, she let out a slow breath and leaned against the tree as well. Of course they had to station themselves under the only tree around, the others off some distance and so they couldn't have a tree to themselves. However, Kin didn't mind as she closed her eyes with a yawn. So many thoughts and feelings unwound themselves in her brain, questions wanting to be answered and ideas wanting to be expressed. But... not now, it was later than she would have liked -as they had been in the river longer than Kin had expected- and slackened. Food, tea, neither of them appealed to her right now as sleep pulled at her senses until she was out. Somewhere on the edge of her mind she thought she heard a flute, but it hardly mattered by now as she fell over and leaned against the red head in sleep.Tsuchi Kin was out cold, worn out by the day.

Tayuya almost paused in the middle of a song, looking dryly over at Kin. She was annoying, and a bitch, and skinny and unskilled and nothing but dead weight on this journey, for fuck's sake, but Tayuya just couldn't bring herself to wake the other girl up. So she sighed, jerking a heavy blanket out of her packet and tugging it over them both, not bothering to move to get anything else on. She'd dry faster this way, after all, and moving would probably mean waking Kin up. So, relaxing under the moon's soft glow and that of the firelight, she played her flute softly.

Maybe having a bitch for a friend wasn't so fucking bad.