audio post :: help me leave behind some reasons to be missed
[There are a couple awkward starts of dead air and static. Finally, there's a long pause and then Kakashi begins.]Assuming this isn't going to be a week long fake-out where we're "sent home" only to come back here at the end of it all, I guess ...a little sentimentality can be ...indulged in. We might as well treat it like it's the real thing,
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I guess not, no.
[Tenten offered him a small smile, and then nodded, back to business.]
Right. So there's two things that really should be covered.
First. Jiraiya-sama died to Pain, Asuma-san to Hidan. Both of them Akatsuki.
After Sasuke went to Orochimaru, he went after Itachi. He took a team that he put together. I don't have many details on that, it's mostly rumors, but one of them is here - Suigetsu.
Sasuke either joined or only worked with the Akatsuki for going after one of the tailed beasts. I'm not sure which. Either way, his allegiance was clear, and when Tsunade-sama wound up in a coma, Danzou became Hokage and declared Sasuke a missing-nin.
Substantiated rumors had him headed to the Kage Summit, and Naruto took you and Tenzou-san to go try to plead for mercy from the Kages for Sasuke.
[Tenten stood up, frowning, and began pacing.]
We rookies started talking. Sasuke was the Leaf's issue, and he was going to attack the summit. He might well start another ninja war.
[She looked at him, knowing full well that no one would like this next part.]
Sasuke was our responsibility. So we voted. Neji, Lee, Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Sakura, Sai, and me. The result was that we were going to take out Sasuke.
[Tenten came to a stop, facing Kakashi.]
I stood behind that decision completely, and I still do. Sakura, Lee, Kiba, and Sai were to set off to meet with your group, first to tell Naruto, and then to take the first attack. Sakura had the right to it. And that group made sense to send - If Sakura spoke to Naruto, Lee would be there to support her. If she couldn't, Kiba likely would be able to speak up, he's talkative enough. And if that didn't work, if Kiba was held back by politeness, well. Sai doesn't pay attention to all manners.
They were about to set off when I landed here.
[Her eyes flickered to glance at the time. Doing all right there, good.]
And that's the first thing.
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The words got more difficult to hear, though Kakashi was not one to shy away from or turn off when things get tough. If anything, he became more attentive to what she was saying, watching as she paced.
They planned to assassinate Sasuke. ...It was chilling to hear, but as an ANBU, as a ninja of Konoha, he had kill-on-sight orders before. Former comrades, even. For Itachi, his ANBU kohai. He was more afraid for them, that they wouldn't succeed. Sasuke was dangerous, paranoid, like a cornered animal. He was highly trained. He would not be as calm or sparing as his brother, either, not even for Sakura. Kakashi had no idea what the mindset of Sasuke was by then, but he did not trust his own previous understanding of the Sasuke he knew, genin Sasuke.
If taking out Sasuke was anyone's responsibility, it was Kakashi's.]
And the second?
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Of course, that threw her timing off just a bit. She wanted to take his hand seconds before midnight, so he wouldn't really even have time to dismiss her as a kid. That was the only reaction she expected from this. A pat on her head and then sent on her way.
Tenten was going to have to talk more. Stretch it out. And she wasn't all that good at beating around the bush or sidetracking.]
The second.
You said no regrets. Leaving none. You haven't failed me here at all. You should know that. You've been... more supportive than I thought you could be. I know part of it was stepping into the gap, and thank you for that.
[Tenten sat back down on the bed, closer to him than originally. Sheer force of will alone was keeping her from looking nervously at Kakashi. He had to know what she was getting at already. But she'd been doing some very hard thinking these past couple of days, and had only come to one answer.]
It won't be the same at all, back home. We'll be busy keeping off a war, and I won't really notice you.
[Time check - just a few seconds left. Good. Now Tenten looked at him, before reaching over and taking his hand. This she wouldn't have dared do otherwise.]
But here, I have. You've been here. Every time I needed someone to talk to. And even when I only wanted it. Um. Thank you.
[Okay. Now they could go home. And she would have left with no regrets. Even if she'd still been a bit vague... Her actions had probably been clear enough. And if not, she'd never know, right?]
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He had wasted a lot of time over the years.
As her words carried on, Kakashi wondered if he should stop her, cut her off before she could say something they could both have to deal with tomorrow. But that was unfair. He had said no regrets. So he would not deny her that.
Kakashi stared down at his hand, and hers, not quite sure what to do. She reminded him a little of Rin at that moment, and her confession weighed heavily in his mind. What do you say to that? What did he want to say to it? Kakashi wasn't even sure he knew. He was never sure what to do with comfort or affection directed at himself.
Midnight. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and tried to find words so he didn't leave her gesture unacknowledged.]
You're, uh...welcome. Tenten.
...Thank you.
[The seconds dragged on. He didn't remove his hand from hers quite yet. It was ...comforting, he guessed, to have someone there at the end. Comforting, reassuring, a silly indulgence and luxury to know he wasn't alone in what could easily be the final hours of this lifetime. He hadn't planned any great way to go out, but he had expected it to be alone, waiting, with Shiori beside him. Maybe the end would be quick--a pop or blackout, and then he would be back in Konoha. Maybe painful, like being ripped into particles and rearranged back into form into the proper space-time sequence. But he was intending to face it without burdening anyone else with whatever emotions the end inspired.
...In the end, he felt surprisingly calm.
Kakashi wasn't sure exactly what the time was. It was late. Past midnight now. And he was still looking at their hands, their laps, his bedspread, and Shiori wagging her tail and staring up at him from his bedroom floor.
From a sort of numbness that he couldn't decide if it was relief or disappointment at not having left (...maybe he could have made a difference back home after all), he snapped back to the moment, extracting his hand from hers casually and scooping up his puppy.]
Mm. Looks like they've decided to keep us after all.
[He managed a smile under the mask, and pat her on the head casually before giving one of her hair-buns a playful squeeze.]
Why don't we go see how the rest of the world is taking it, hm?
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She gave him a full smile as they sat there, holding hands, waiting for the world to end.
And waiting.
And waiting some more.
And it was then that she realized it had indeed been a trick. Or the device talked about had worked. Either way, she'd just admitted feelings to Kakashi, more or less, and she was still here. Tenten resisted the very strong urge to facepalm. The smile faded.
He pulled his hand away and Tenten instantly missed it, wanting to hold it again. She actually half-started to reach for it before stopping herself. Kakashi's hand had been warm and just a little exciting, but Tenten started working on controlling the very strong urge.]
I guess we amused them enough. Or the scientists' device worked.
[She leaned into the now-familiar hairbun squeeze, wondering at how casual he was. Tenten didn't know if it was a good sign or a bad one. The pat... made it seem a little on the too-innocent-for-her-taste side.]
Okay.
[Getting up, Tenten gave him one of her calmer smiles, even though she felt far from calm. Flirting wasn't her thing. She reached over to give Shiori a headpat.]
If you wanted to do that more, you could. The hairbuns. I kinda like it.
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