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It took Tenzō over a month to be finally cleared for duty again. His entire life, for as long as he can remember he had served Konoha on back-to-back missions. He had honestly not stayed within her walls for more than two weeks at a time since he was fourteen years old, and those two weeks were either due to somewhat serious injuries or forced leave.
This time, the damage wasn’t just superficial. The burn had gone so deep into his muscle that it had damaged the nerves in his upper arm, making his movements sluggish, slow, and painful. It was difficult for him to do hand signs, especially fast enough, or aim his kunais’ to hit the intended targets. His right arm was luckily his dominant arm, so he wasn’t completely incompetent. But it was frustrating, so much that at one point Tenzō questioned if not only was his soulmate lost forever, but if he had also lost the one thing he had going in his life. Being a shinobi was all Tenzō knew.
There had been a time when he thought he had value elsewhere in life. When Kakashi had pulled him out of ROOT he had shown him that life had so much more to offer and that Tenzō could be part of that. Tenzō believed for years that perhaps serving the village wasn’t all there was for his future as his friendship with Kakashi meant everything to him. So much that yes, he would disobey an order if it meant saving his senpai over a mission.
But then Kakashi got pulled out of ANBU and everything changed. Tenzō had genuinely believed that they were friends, that it went beyond being just colleagues. But that was clearly something else he had read completely wrong. In ANBU Kakashi hadn’t favored Tenzō because of friendship, no, he had liked having Tenzō on his team because they worked well together. Why else would his senpai completely ignore all his efforts to remain friends after he was asked to be a jounin sensei?
For weeks Tenzō had thought that Kakashi was just sulking from being demoted, or maybe even busy despite not having a genin team yet. When Tenzō had met Kakashi on the street, Kakashi had his nose buried in his book and completely ignored Tenzō’s greeting. Something Tenzō had witnessed Kakashi do with other people when he didn’t want their company, but he had never done that to Tenzō before. When it happened four more times within 3 more months, he knew he had lost a friend. He had tried to convince himself that maybe he was wrong, that with time things would fall back together, but he knew better.
Four years later, they still haven’t talked to each other once. Tenzō had honestly stopped trying. When they passed each other on the street, they might as well just be strangers as neither no longer acknowledged the other.
Losing his soulmark had been devastating. He had tried to convince himself that it didn’t matter, but the truth was—especially after losing the person he cared for so much—that the soulmark had been his only hope to find someone to care for again. Someone who might care for him in return. With that dream now in ruins, and him also being stuck on sick leave, it was easy for Tenzō to admit he was depressed. He was never an angry person, but lately, he felt it. The frustration of being completely unloved and useless was getting to him, so much that he struggled to get out of bed some mornings.
But, the doctors did tell him that it might be possible for him to make full recovery. And as Tenzō hated pitying himself, he held on to that. Slowly with enough determination and concentration, of four weeks of hard work every single day, he made it.
His arm was still not working at its full potential, but his physical therapist had full belief that over time he would get there. Finally, he would be able to get off his couch and do some missions again.
His doctor only cleared him for A-Rank missions, meaning he probably wouldn’t be doing any ANBU missions in a while, but he was happy with whatever he got. Tsunade had also looked genuinely happy when he handed over his fit for work documentation and promised him she would have a mission ready for him soon. Things were finally looking forward.
Soon turned out to be two days later, and Tenzō felt excited as he headed towards the Hokage tower at noon as the summon requested. He had no idea what mission he would be getting, he knew everyone had been stretched thin after the attack from Sound as they had suffered a lot of casualties. The rumor said that Tsunade was notorious to run her shinobi on missions back to back, though Tenzō understood that right now she had to do what she had to do.
As he was about to knock on the door to her office, a feeling of anxiousness ran over him. He was still not fully recovered, enough to manage a mission for sure, but he wouldn’t be the top version of himself yet and he worried that he might not be able to pull his weight as he used to. What if they were put in a situation where his teammates needed him to react quick enough, and he couldn’t? Could he potentially put their lives in danger by rushing things? But his doctor had cleared him, and surely Tsunade—who was a legendary medic-nin— wouldn’t put him on a mission he couldn’t handle?
Taking a deep breath Tenzō pulled himself together and cleared his mind. This was not the time for self-doubt, and he trusted his superiors and his doctor’s input. He knocked on the door and stepped in when Tsunade called him in.
“Ah, Tenzō please come in. I was starting to wonder if you were gonna stand outside the door the entire time,” Tsunade welcomed him. Shizune was standing next to her and bowed politely with a smile and with Tonton in her arms.
Tenzō blushed. Of course, Tsunade would notice him hovering outside the entrance. She wasn’t just a legendary medic-nin, she was one of the three Sannin. To avoid embarrassing himself more, Tenzō walked quickly closer and bowed his head in greeting. “Hokage-sama, Shizune-san.”
Tsunade waved her hand as if she have had enough of formalities, but gave him a considering look. “How is your arm healing up? The report says you still have some loss of functionality. Do you feel like you are ready to take on missions again?”
On instinct Tenzō rolled his shoulder and clenched his fists, getting a feel of how it was right then. “It is still aching with movement and my movement isn’t as fast as it has been, but I believe I am still able to do missions, though maybe not as high-ranked as I have previously done, quite yet,” He replied. He didn’t want to boast about having made a full recovery with the risk of being sent on a mission he wouldn’t be able to handle. Something that could, and have in the past cost people their lives.
Both Tsunade and Shizune nodded at that. Shizune then looked thoughtfully over to Tsunade before aiming her attention back to Tenzō. “The report also claims the injury destroyed your soul-mark, and your psych-eval says that you have always been hopeful when it comes to your mark. How are you coping with the loss of that?”
Tenzō’s eyes widened with the question. He honestly had tried his best the last few days to not think about the soulmark, and he hadn’t expected being asked about it. Soulmark after all had nothing to do with the skill of a shinobi, but he supposed it could affect their emotional state. Truth is, he was devastated. He tried to tell himself it didn’t matter. He really had. He was a shinobi first and foremost, so he shouldn’t care as much as he did. He looked at the ground as he replied, not wanting to be dishonest but also a little shameful since he let it affect him that much.
“I guess it saddens me that it is gone, but I remember how it looked like, so if I ever saw someone with a matching mark, I guess it isn’t necessary all lost,” Tenzō replied and looked hesitantly up at his leader and her assistant.
They both had kind smiles on their faces and nodded in understanding. Tenzō couldn’t help but feel a little ashamed that it affected him this much.
“Well, I have a mission for you, which I believe will be a good place for you to start again. It isn’t anywhere near your usual missions, and I apologize for that, but I am hopeful that you will be back in your old position as an ANBU-Captain in no time.” Tsunade explained. Tenzō nodded in understanding. He hadn’t expected anything else.
“I would like to give you your details, but it appears that as usual your teammate for this one is once again late, and I don’t feel like doing it twice,” Tsunade sighed, making Tenzō frown. Who would be rude enough to be late meeting with the Hokage? And as indicated, several times? It was clear that Tsunade was annoyed at it too, though he thought he maybe heard a slither of fondness in her voice too.
Tenzō on the other hand was feeling dread. He was about to be teamed up with someone who appeared to lack respect for their Hokage, no doubt they would lack respect for him as well. He had been on missions with lazy people before, and he hated it. As much as he tried to ignore their disrespect, missions like that were always a little more draining, and he felt a little resentment towards them afterward. He had hoped his first mission back would go smoothly. Now he wasn’t all that sure. He was about to ask who his teammate would be when he heard a window being opened and a shadow appearing on the left of Tsunade.
“Yo!”
All color drained from his face. Out of all the people Tenzō could have been grouped up with…
“How nice of you to finally show up, you know I have better things to do with my time than wait for you, brat!” Tsunade scolded him, clearly irritated by the copy-nin’s lack of time management, her fist clenching where they laid on the table. Tonton oinked in what Tenzō believed to be agreement.
“Maa, I know that Tenzō here is an excellent company, what better things are there to do?” Kakashi replied, his eye forming into an upside-down crescent moon as he looked towards Tenzō.
Tenzō gave his former captain a court nod, feeling his defenses starting to enforce all the walls around him. Tenzō was not happy to be doing a mission with Kakashi. Not because Kakashi was a bad shinobi, he was anything but that. But because Tenzō knew the effect his senpai had on him and didn’t like how vulnerable it made him. Especially considering how Kakashi had just cut him off after being discharged from ANBU. He used to think they were friends, though now they were pretty much just mere acquaintances.
Tenzō didn’t know how to act. He decided, for now, to act neutral and simply treat it as the mission handover it was.
“Not having to repeat the mission details!” Tsunade bit out, waving Kakashi towards the space next to Tenzō. Kakashi just shrugged as he walked to the indicated spot.
“But then Tenzō would have heard it twice and there will be less room for any misunderstandings,” Kakashi said as he walked, throwing Tsunade a look over his shoulder.
Tenzō did not know what to do in the situation, it was clear that Kakashi was intentionally trying to rile up Tsunade, and it seemed like she let him. Shizune, standing next to her boss was trying her hardest to keep a grin off her face.
“It’s a border patrol, brat. If you manage to misunderstand anything then I think we’ll have to revoke that title of genius you got.” Tsunade sent Kakashi a stern glare as she reached for a scroll on her desk. She continued before Kakashi could come with any more smart remarks.
“I’m sending you to the north watchtower of River country, closest to the land of Rain. I am aware you usually go in threes on these missions, but unfortunately, we are so run thin at the moment, you two are the only ones I got. There have been some suspicious activities near the land of Rain borders, but I don’t believe you should run into any trouble on your post. If you do, use the hawk summons that is already at the watchtower, immediately.
Avoid engaging with any potential enemies unless necessary. We normally keep people on post for three weeks at a time, but that is with a full group, I will send someone to relieve you in two weeks,” she explained.
Tenzō nodded in understanding and saw Kakashi do the same in the corner of his eyes.
“Hai, Hokage-sama.” Tenzō replied.
“Perfect. I want you two to start making your way tomorrow morning. The rations office will have necessities ready for you at sunrise.” Tsunade explained.
Tenzō nodded. Normally he would be provided rations by the ANBU office underground, but as this was his very first mission ever as a Jounin, she was kind enough to provide information for where he could go without him having to ask.
“You two are dismissed,” Tsunade said as she threw the mission scroll on Kakashi, indicating he would be the captain for this one. Which wasn’t surprising, Tenzō just wasn’t sure how to feel about having to work with his senpai again. But he turned and left the office, waiting a moment for Kakashi to exit as well.
“Meet you at the west gate at 6 am, Kakashi-san?” He asked as Kakashi closed the door behind him.
“Maaa, Tenzō no need to be so formal.” He replied with his usual eye-smile and slouch.
Tenzō couldn’t quite keep the frown off his face. He was only being polite. After all, these days the two of them were nothing but strangers, and honestly he no longer quite felt like it was appropriate to call Kakashi “senpai” out loud anymore. He had wanted Kakashi’s attention those years ago, but it was always one-sided. Instead, he gave a nod of acknowledgment even if he didn’t plan on executing it, before turning and making his way home again. He wanted to go through all his equipment and make sure it was in good condition before trying to catch some sleep.
He didn’t expect Kakashi to fall into step with him as they walked out of the tower.
“So, Tenzō, long time no see, I see you cut your hair. It suits you,” Kakashi said cheerfully.
Tenzō raised an eyebrow at that and intentionally ignored how his heartbeat sped up from Kakashi commenting on his appearance. “Uhm, thanks. You look the same, I guess,” he replied. Not quite sure why Kakashi bothered talking to him now.
“Maa, good to hear I have aged well, hmm? I didn’t know you did missions out of ANBU these days?” Kakashi stated, though it was clearly said as a question.
Tenzō shrugged, not wanting to go into the details of his most miserable month yet, though he should probably explain that his arm isn’t fully recovered yet. “I suffered an injury last month, while I heal I am doing an easier workload.” He explained, keeping his eyes fixed on the path in front of them, avoiding looking at his old senpai.
“Ah, what kind of injury?” Kakashi asked. A fair question as he was leading the mission.
“Damage to some nerves in my upper left arm,” Tenzō explained, lifting his hand and opening and closing it to indicate. “The movements aren’t as quick and accurate as they used to be.”
He saw Kakashi nod in understanding in the corner of his eyes. “I hope it heals up well for you,” he answered, sounding genuinely sincere, all teasing disappearing from his voice.
“Thanks, anyway, this is my turn, I’ll see you in the morning.” Tenzō finished, indicating to the crossroad they had reached, giving Kakashi a small wave as he made his turn, leaving Kakashi behind.
Only when he had rounded the next corner, Tenzō took a deep breath. His heart was pounding hard in his chest, and he knew then that the feelings he had tried to bury for Kakashi were still there. It was frustrating because all he wanted to do was finish this mission and move on with his life again. Instead, Kakashi seemed to want to do small talk.
Hopefully tomorrow, they could stay focused on the mission.
Kakashi was only a few minutes late the next morning, and they quickly set out to their destination.
The trip there was mostly quiet, though the silence was awkward whenever they stopped for their five-minute break. They exchanged a few words, just checking in with each other and making sure they were both okay. Kakashi asked a few questions about his injury, and Tenzō answered honestly but avoided mentioning the mental impact the burn had caused him. At moments it seemed like Kakashi wanted to say more but never did. Tenzō wondered if it was about their past, but decided to stay off that topic. Regardless of how hurt Tenzō was, they still had to complete this mission, and it wasn't like Kakashi actually owed him an explanation. He was after all, free to make his own choices in life.
They kept a good phase though had to slow down when it started raining to avoid accidentally slipping off the branches. They could use their chakra to keep the speed and stay on their feet, but ideally, unless it was necessary, it was best to keep their reserves topped up.
Tenzō wasn't too happy about the rain, especially since the air was near freezing, but he knew they weren't too far away from their destination. He better get used to it anyway, they were going to patrol near the border to Rain-country after all. The watchtower would give them a roof over their head and had only a few years earlier gotten built-in windows. Not only would that give them cover from the cold, but also provide a full 360-degree view to keep an eye out for any suspicious activities. It wasn't big, but it was better than it had been, improving the morale of the shinobi sent for these missions immensely.
At least it wasn't snowing. At least not yet.
An hour later they could finally see the weak light from the watchtower lamp, and a huge relief washed over Tenzō. Kakashi must have agreed; Tenzō noticed how both their speed increased slightly.
The previous team greeted them but quickly went off into the night. They had been ordered to stop by the neighboring watchtower before heading back to Konoha as one of the newer chunin had managed to slip and dislocate their knee. That team didn't have a medic, so they needed assistance to make their way back.
The moment they went, Tenzō threw his backpack onto the floor and searched for his clothing-supply scroll. He felt desperate to get out of these clothes and quickly, his injured arm aching terribly from being exposed to the cold. He acted on instinct, not giving it much thought until after he had shrugged his vest off and pulled his sweater off over his head, exposing his horrible burn-scar. He could feel Kakashi's eyes on him, most likely accessing the damage that Tenzō had suffered about a month ago. Kakashi also knew about Tenzō's soulmark, he had seen it a few times on their countless missions in the past, so he surely would notice how that was practically gone now, only a few shades of green and blue still noticeable, though the image of an oak reaching out into the sky with branches that looked more than lightning than wood.
"That's more damage than I thought it was," Kakashi suddenly said as he was stepping closer, voice sounding sympathetic.
Tenzō only nodded in reply, not wanting to talk too much about it. He instead focused on channeling his chakra into the summoning scroll, grabbing a new, dry set of uniforms that he quickly started to put on.
"Your soulmark—"
"Yeah, it's gone," Tenzō interrupted quickly, Kakashi was the last person he wanted to talk to about soulmates.
Back in ANBU Tenzō had dreamed of Kakashi being his destined other. Of course, he was always sensible and knew that wasn't the case, especially since his senpai had seen his mark. Surely if they matched, Kakashi would have said something. But he was Tenzō's crush since the age of 17 (maybe even longer as that was the time Tenzō had actually managed to identify his feelings) and it was easy to wish.
When Kakashi left ANBU he was sensible enough to avoid thinking about it like that and instead tried to think about who his actual soulmate was. He held hopes that he would one day meet them, but it was very unlikely. It was better to just focus on what he did have, and he did have his job, his comrades, and Konoha.
“When did it happen?” Kakashi asked, continuing to dig for answers. To be honest, Tenzō didn’t understand his senpai’s sudden interest in his injury or soul mark. He’s never asked about it before.
Tenzō pulled some new trousers on.
“A little over a month ago, I had suffered a hit to my head and gotten a concussion, so my reaction to the enemy fire-katon wasn’t fast enough. I managed to counter the attack with the water wave jutsu, but not before the flames reached me,” Tenzō replied.
He finally turned towards his senpai who suddenly had stepped very close to him, eyes widening at the sudden and close proximity.
Kakashi was looking at the burn, exactly where the soulmark used to be, and he looked…sad? Then Kakashi looked up, and their eyes met. Kakashi appeared like he was searching for something and for a second they simply stood there looking at each other.
Eventually, Kakashi broke eye contact and he cleared his throat as he turned around.
“I should get changed too,” Kakashi declared, breaking the spell that had locked Tenzō in the moment. Shaking his head in a futile effort to clear his thoughts, Tenzō turned around to give Kakashi the privacy he was asking for without saying. His senpai had always been very self-conscious about undressing, or so Tenzō believed at least. He pulled the new sweater over his head and instead focused on staring out the window.
A few days later there was less tension between them, and Tenzō once again was starting to enjoy Kakashi’s company. They eventually started talking more like they used to om the past, and Kakashi started his merciless teasing. Luckily he didn’t ask any more questions about the soul mark, and Tenzō was grateful.
A fluttering feeling took residence in the pit of his stomach as Tenzō commented back on a remark Kakashi had made about the old ANBU times. Kakashi’s laugh brought a great blush into Tenzō’s cheeks, and he immediately turned back towards the windows, pretending to survey the area to hide his reaction.
Kakashi made it so easy, and Tenzō felt a strong pull towards the man he respected so highly. His heart was surely suffering because he could tell his heart rate was constantly higher than normal. But at the same time, Tenzō was wary. He didn’t hold on to false hope that they magically would be friends again after the mission was done. For all he knew, Kakashi would go back to ignoring him once they were back in the village. Though at the same time, he could tell something was changed in his senpai, and he especially noticed it when he told Tenzō a few stories about his genin team. It was obvious that Kakashi had grown fond of the kids, even if there was also clearly a deep sadness spread over him like a blanket, now that the genin team had gone their separate ways. Especially with Sasuke’s betrayal. Kakashi didn’t say much about him, but Tenzō could tell that it was the kid he had related the most with and that he felt like a failure.
Tenzō disagreed, of course. Itachi had been on Team Ro with them, neither of them had seen the darkness that their teammate held. If anyone were to blame for Sasuke’s despair, it was the kid’s older brother.
“We should probably do one last round before nightfall, it also looks like it might start raining again soon,” Kakashi said, changing the topic to their mission.
Tenzō nodded. “Should we switch up again? I went north last time, I can go south this time?”
“Sure, meet back here in an hour,” Kakashi replied as he jumped out of the tower and made his way to check on the traps near the border. Tenzō did the same.
Nothing was amiss when Tenzō ran to check on the traps, except that when Tenzō started making his way back to the watchtower, a feeling of being watched washed over him. He immediately started to survey the surroundings more closely, as whoever was watching him, felt sinister. His alert was on full once he passed a trap he had already checked and saw it had been triggered. He stopped to make sure—seeing how the rope had undoubtedly been cut with a blade. It was near dusk, so the shadows were few, making it difficult to make out smaller details in the environment.
But, in the corner of his eyes, he thought he saw movement, and he immediately spun around with a kunai ready in his hand. He couldn’t see anything, but he knew someone was there. A branch broke behind him, and he turned just in time to block the incoming attack with his kunai.
Rain shinobi! The man jumped back with an ugly grin on his face. His black hair fell to his shoulders but was held back with the hitai-ate on his forehead.
“My my, you got some fast movements there, but will it be enough against me?” The man leered as he started forming some hand signs that Tenzō recognized as some kind of water jutsu. He countered the incoming rain spikes with a mud-wall, reacting quick, but not as fast as they used to be. The impact the spikes made on the mudwall was strong, and Tenzō saw how it cracked even from the opposite side, this man was skilled, no doubt.
And fast, because, before Tenzō could manage to catch a breath, the man jumped on top of the wall and threw three shurikens at him. Tenzō dodged them all by jumping behind a tree, to then make himself fall into the ground as the enemy lost line of sight. He didn’t see the attack aimed at the spot he had stood moments before, but he heard a blade hitting the wood clearly, even through the ground. Tenzō suppressed his chakra and started making his move a few meters further away.
The rain-shinobi sneered, the sound muffled through the dirt. “You’re good at hiding, that is for sure, but for how long?”
Tenzō climbed up from the ground a bit further away, keeping himself hidden in the roots of an old, fallen tree. He surveyed the area, making note of the surroundings and location of the enemy before forming hand signs to a jutsu that would disorient the sound of his speaking, echoing his voice from all the surrounding trees.
“We have a treaty with Rain, why are you doing this?” Tenzō called out. The enemy turned around, clearly confused about where the voice originated from, even looking up in the trees. For now, he was not able to tell where Tenzō’s voice was coming from.
“Ha! Clever, but you can’t hide for long Konoha-nin! And don’t worry, our objective isn’t Konoha, but rather what Konoha has to offer. Your friend, Kakashi of the Sharingan, is who we want. You? We just plan on getting rid of you to buy us more time before someone comes looking.”
The words made anxiety settle in Tenzō’s gut. Kakashi had been in the bingo books for as long as Tenzō could remember. Tenzō was too, but not as Tenzō, but as ANBU-cat. The enemy didn’t know his face, only his mask. But if this enemy was here to get rid of him, when the objective was Kakashi, then there was undoubtedly someone after Kakashi right now, probably more than one person. And if they were as skilled as this guy, then they might be in trouble.
“And what do you want with the Copy-nin?” Tenzō called out. If he managed to escape, then the information would be important.
“Hmm, well, as you will be dead soon I guess I don’t mind telling you.” The nin laughed. Tenzō almost wanted to roll his eyes.
Over-confident, Tenzō assessed. Most likely underestimating his skill, thinking Tenzō is chunin or jonin level, not realizing that he is up against an ANBU-captain / former ROOT member. Tenzō also hasn’t revealed his mokuton yet, this man was careless.
“You see, our beloved leader pays us highly for handing him shinobi of special Kekkei Genkai, dead, or alive. As your team-mate has one of the rarest ones there is, after your village slaughtered the Uchiha clan that is. Well, the Sharingan, is in high demand. Our leader has been collecting shinobi with good promise, and he is now stronger than ever.” The enemy explained before throwing a kunai with an exploding tag directly in Tenzō’s direction. Tenzō jumped out of his hiding spot and took cover from the explosion behind another tree. Splinters of the old root projectile right past him.
He blocked another incoming attack with a kunai when the enemy jumped at him, and as they stood there wrestling with each other, the enemy simply smiled. “You’re good, but lacking. It’s been fun playing with you.”
The enemy twisted out of the hold and aimed straight for Tenzō’s legs, but Tenzō was faster and managed to jump up just in time.
The enemy turned, and they both looked at each other, standing defensively and alert at each other.
“What does Hanzo want with other villages' Kekkei Genkai?” Tenzō asked, voice angry and demanding answers, hating the fact that people were targeting his senpai.
“Hmm, so many questions for a dead man, I suppose I would have liked to know why I was about to die too. You see, he’s building an army, and soon, he’ll be ruling over all the other hidden villages as well. Promising us a world of peace. Shame that you and some others have to die for that reality to take place.” The man explained. Tenzō wanted nothing more than to kill him. Any promise for peace by ruling over all the villages was a distorted wish.
This time Tenzō attacked first, he’s gotten the answers he needed for now, and he had to wrap this up and make his way to Kakashi. That seemed to have surprised the Rain-shinobi, but the surprise was quickly replaced by a pleased expression. “Finally, you decided to join the game.”
He blocked Tenzō’s attack, trying to once again kick the feet under Tenzō away, repeating the same move from before. A mistake, because this time Tenzō let himself get hit with intention, only that when he fell to the ground it was a controlled fall and he aimed an attack at the shinobi’s legs. It hit, not fatal, though enough to slow him down and react by jumping away. Tenzō was prepared for that—he immediately formed hand signs for his mokuton—and made spikes erupt from the ground where the enemy was about to land. With no momentum to move away, the spikes impaled the man, and he was finally immobilized.
“You! I KNOW YOU! You’re the one that bends nature! But the bingo books say you only do ANBU-missions!” The enemy rasped, blood pooling out of his mouth from the internal damage. The man clearly recognized the mokuton that was known in relation to ‘cat’.
Tenzō didn’t have time to waste, so he simply turned and made his way towards the north where his senpai had been patrolling. As he set off, rushing through the branches with a speed that would impress even his senpai.
It didn’t take long before he noticed signs of battle that hadn’t previously been there on his previous patrols, it wasn’t easy to see in the dark, but he had gone this path a few times and saw the small changes in form of damage to the environment in the form of cuts of branches and burned wood and leaves. Tenzō then heard the familiar sound of the Chidori and some shouting voices and made his way. As he entered the clearing, he saw Kakashi with his hand through an enemy chest and two others jumping in to attack. Two bodies laid already dead on the ground. Tenzō didn’t hesitate, quickly forming the hand signs for mokuton and grabbing one of the unsuspecting enemies mid-air, stopping her from reaching Kakashi. Tenzō then made more hand-signs, but with his damaged arm, he didn’t manage to make it quick enough. He felt internal panic as he saw the attacking Rain-shinobi slice her katana through the air directly towards Kakashi. Tenzō managed to knock her off balance, but not block the attack that hit his clearly exhausted senpai. Kakashi jumped back but immediately fell onto the ground. Tenzō jumped between the enemy and the copy-nin, blocking the katana with an arm solidified of wood and using the other to stab her in her chest.
The remaining nin, still entangled in Tenzō’s mokuton screamed out, and as Tenzō went to pick up Kakashi, he threw a kunai in her direction to silence her. They hadn’t expected Tenzō to still be alive and coming to assist his captain.
Kakashi had fallen unconscious, and Tenzō suspected a combination of chakra exhaustion and taking the hit to his chest. But he couldn’t be sure. He didn’t feel any other presence around him as he picked up his senpai and made his way back to the watchtower.
When he reached it, he immediately scribbled a note and sent off one of the messenger hawks already stationed there. He activated the already in place wards and laid Kakashi carefully onto his futon.
Accessing the damage, all he could see was a few cuts and bruises and the slash across the chest. It didn’t go in deep, but with the flak vest and the sweater, Tenzō couldn’t be sure. He didn’t even think twice when he grabbed a kunai and cut away the fabric. Also tearing the mask off of Kakashi's face. The cut wasn’t too deep, it could easily be bandaged for now with an antiseptic salve to protect from infection. Tenzō was just about to grab for his medkit when he noticed it. There, on Kakashi’s upper chest, reaching upon his neck and jaw it was, the mark! The mark Tenzō had once carried himself up until a month ago. A mark that meant… That meant that Kakashi was his soulmate.
Which meant that Kakashi had known that entire time, and never said anything. He had even cut Tenzō out of his life after leaving ANBU. A rush of feelings surged through Tenzō, but as he was first and foremost a shinobi he remained focused on his task to bandage up this wound and stay alert for more incoming enemies.
The cleaning and bandaging of the wound went quickly, Kakashi had stirred a few times, but remained unconscious. Tenzō also replaced the sweater Kakashi was wearing, though he didn’t have one with a mask. He also put on a new flack vest to help keep him warm. He dug through Kakashi’s stuff and found a new clean mask and pulled it over his senpai’s head. He had seen the beautiful face it was hiding now, but he believed in respecting other people’s boundaries and he believed Kakashi would appreciate the comfort of the familiar mask. It was then he noticed a bump that likely indicated head trauma, which could also explain why he was unconscious. There was nothing Tenzō could do about that, and all he could do was wait for the hawk to reach the village and wait for assistance.
Tenzō stayed alert, the night had fallen over them and made it more difficult to see the surroundings. Luckily the clouds cleared up and the moonlight lit up the world enough to make out some details.
It wasn’t until hours later that a groan finally escaped Kakashi, indicating he was awake. Tenzō knew then that Kakashi would be okay, the fact he had stayed unconscious for so long was probably a combination of several things.
Tenzō didn’t turn to look at him, not ready to face him. He was happy his senpai was awake but he was still feeling deeply hurt from the revelation that Kakashi was his soulmate, who also clearly had rejected him all those years ago. Seems like being a shinobi was all there was to Tenzō’s future after all.
“Tenzō…” Kakashi groaned.
Tenzō nodded but didn’t turn back around to look at his senpai. “You should try to get some more rest, I already sent a hawk requesting assistance. They should be on their way now.”
“My mask, You… You changed my clothes,” Kakashi said, both as a statement and as a question.
“I dressed the wound from the katana that hit you. It’s superficial though it still poses a risk of infection.” Tenzō replied, deciding to not mention the mark. He knew Kakashi realized he must have seen it.
“Tenzō-”
“Kakashi, don’t. It doesn’t matter.” Tenzō interrupted. He didn’t want to hear any stupid excuses, he just wanted to wallow in his feelings of hurt right now.
“I should have told you,” Kakashi replied instead.
Tenzō sighed in frustration. Right now he wanted Kakashi to just shut up. “I don’t care, it’s just a mark anyway.” It was a lie and they both knew it.
Kakashi didn’t reply. For a moment the tower remained silent before Tenzō heard some ruffling. Kakashi grunted, and there was a creak in the floorboards, indicating that Kakashi stood up.
Tenzō rolled his eyes in irritation and finally made the move to turn towards his captain. “Senpai, you’re supposed to stay re–umhff.”
Tenzō froze as suddenly a pair of hands grabbed his vest, pulled him forward and his senpai’s lips were pressing against his.
Kaiyaru (Ao3) / Sinyaru (Tumblr))
For a moment he didn’t know how to react, too surprised. Before common sense entered his mind, he finally leaned into the kiss. Wrapping his hands around Kakashi's neck and closing his eyes.
It didn't last long until Kakashi pulled back with a groan and carefully rubbed the back of his head where Tenzō had found the bump, and held the other arm over his chest where the katana had hit him.
"You don't happen to have any painkillers?" Kakashi asked as he sat back down in exhaustion, though also clearly in pain. Tenzō blinked confused, still in shock from being kissed by the man he had always…his soulmate.
As Kakashi's question settled in, he quickly spun around to continue to survey the area. He hadn't felt any presence or seen any movement, but the group that attacked them had been good, and there could easily be people hiding in the shadows suppressing their chakra skillfully.
If they wanted Kakashi, this distraction could be fatal for both of them.
"I'm not sure if this is the time to become dulled from the effect of the pills, there could be more of them. A team is probably already on their way to support us, but we don't know if there's any more out there, they were pretty determined to get you with the sharingan," Tenzō replied, hating how his voice wavered.
"Right now I'll be more out of sorts without them, my head is truly killing me." Kakashi groaned.
Tenzō grabbed his kit and threw Kakashi a bottle of pills. He rarely used painkillers, simply because they made him drowsy, which was not a good combination in battle. But he knew the pain that would affect your efforts more than a pill would. If Kakashi wanted an anodyne, then he trusted that it was needed.
“If I’m right, a team should be here in approximately six hours, I requested a medic-nin. I would have found somewhere else for us to stay, but as this place is warded, I figured it was the best for now.” Tenzō explained further.
Kakashi only grunted in reply. Tenzō supposed his senpai would need an hour or two to regain some energy, also allowing the pills to work.
While Kakashi rested some more, Tenzō stayed vigilant. It had been a skilled team, not better than them, clearly, but if anyone were to attack them now, Tenzō would have to do the fighting and protect Kakashi at the same time.
Fortunately, no one else came, and Tenzō couldn’t help using the time to think through the recent events. Kakashi was his soulmate, his actual soulmate, and he had kissed Tenzō. What did it mean? Was it the head trauma? Or had Kakashi actually meant it? Then why now? Why avoid Tenzō all these years? Was it simply because he found out? Did Kakashi want to be with Tenzō? If that was so, why did he never say anything?
Why did Tsunade put them on a mission together? Had she known?
Of course, she had, it is a protocol to record everyone’s soul mark, and as Kakashi and Tenzō were on the same ANBU team, they must have known for years. Though, it is a rule of confidentiality that anyone handling the files can’t inform anyone of any personal information, including soul marks.
What did this mean for both of them? Was Kakashi going to pretend like nothing had happened when they finally found their way back to Konoha? Would he play the game of evasion like he always did? But Kakashi was different now, he seemed more open, less serious, more willing to let himself be known.
Tenzō wished Kakashi would wake up and just tell him. Tell him that this means nothing and that they should remain strangers, or that they should try to be together.
Tenzō twisted his head when he saw movement in the corner of his eye coming from east. The light from the rising sun making it easy to spot. At first, he tensed before he realized it was reinforcements in a group of four.
Letting up the wards, he let them in, surprised to see Shizune amongst them.
“Report,” Shizune said as she rushed forward and sat down next to Kakashi, hands already glowing with healing jutsu. Kakashi stirred and blinked his eyes open.
“We were attacked by five enemy nins from Rain while doing patrol. One attacked me doing the south route, and four went for Kakashi using the north route. I managed to kill the one attacking me after he revealed his objective to me. They were after Kakashi and his sharingan eye. Apparently, their leader is looking for nins with special Kekkei Genkai, dead or alive, and pay their shinobi well for it. I immediately made my way to Kakashi who had already killed three of them. I supported him in killing the other two and brought him back here.
He appears to have suffered head trauma, and he was cut on his chest by a Katana. It doesn’t appear life-threatening, but I have treated it with salve and a clean bandage. He also seems to experience chakra exhaustion.
No further enemies seem to have targeted us.” Tenzō explained while watching Shizune knit Kakashi’s skin together.
“Thank you for your hard work Tenzō-san, Kakashi-san. We’ll move out in half an hour. We’ll keep a team of three here for extra support.
“Hai,” Tenzō replied, and Kakashi simply groaned, muttering a complaint under his breath that we just disturbed him from the most amazing Icha-Icha dream.
Tenzō shook his head and Shizune rolled her eyes. Unfortunately, it seemed like the enemy didn’t knock his senpai’s love for Icha-Icha out of his head.
It took them almost the entire day to get back to Konoha and Kakashi got admitted to the hospital, though not without complaint, and Tenzō went home where he started to wallow in self-doubt.
What if the kiss really had meant nothing to Kakashi? Could the injury to the head and chakra exhaustion impaired Kakashi's decision-making? What about the soul bond? Had the pull Tenzō felt towards his senpai been because of the soulmark? Had it been there the entire time?
So many questions raced through Tenzō's mind, and he honestly felt like he was going crazy. A part of him expected Kakashi to go back to ignoring him, while another part hoped that this meant a change in a good direction.
Maybe he should visit Kakashi in the hospital where his senpai had nowhere to hide… No, that would seem too desperate, besides, it was in the middle of the night now.
Tenzō couldn't sleep. He kept tossing, turning, and checking the time every few minutes, his body not ready to rest yet. Not only had a simple border patrol turned into a potential war with Rain-country, but he'd found his soulmate, who had also kissed him.
To then have completely ignored it afterwards…
Kakashi had broken away and talked about being in pain, what if it was all a cover as he regretted his action? Gods, Tenzō was an idiot for holding on to hope. He had learned his lesson before, why would it be any different this time? They had been side by side for years before, why the heck would Kakashi change his mind after a short team-up where they basically had been forced to socialize?
Maybe visiting Kakashi in the morning was a mistake. It was with that thought that Tenzō finally fell asleep.
Tenzō stirred as he heard some kind of knocking that didn't belong anywhere in his chaotic dreams. Blinking his eyes open and rubbing his eyes, he looked over at the time which said 05:56 am, meaning he'd only managed to catch about 3 and a half hours sleep.
The knocking could be heard again, and Tenzō jumped out of bed and moved to his door, only to be met by no one. Scratching his head in confusion, Tenzō closed the door and made his way back to his bed, only to be stopped in his tracks when he heard it again. This time it came from the left, his kitchen window.
Turning his head he saw Kakashi waving at him from outside wearing only a hospital gown and a surgical face mask.
Tenzō had not had enough sleep for this, and this was not part of any of the scenarios that he had calculated in his head. He still made his way over with a rapidly beating heart and opened the window, allowing Kakashi to jump inside.
"Maa, I would have grabbed a coat had I known you would take this long Tenzō," Kakashi joked.
"I can tell you weren't even discharged from the hospital," Tenzō replied enraged. "I swear if Tsunade-sama kicks in my door to retrieve you, you're the one replacing it, and any furniture she destroys in her p—umhff."
Tenzō was interrupted by a pair of lips over his, and he was once again left speechless when they finally broke apart.
"I uh, uhm—"
"Listen Tenzō, I'm sorry for shutting you out of my life and never telling you about my mark. You see, when I was removed from ANBU I was in a dark place, I couldn't handle a soulmate or any relationship at the time. I shouldn't have shut you out, I should have reached out instead," Kakashi started explaining and Tenzō stayed silent to let his senpai speak. He needed to hear this, and it wasn’t as if he was good at talking about his feelings. Kakashi removed his mask, laying himself bare to Tenzō and looking genuinely upset.
"It's no excuse, and I know I hurt you. I kept thinking after getting to know team seven and experiencing the impact they have on people, that I should tell you, but I was ashamed. Especially after all this time, I figured you had probably mov…"
This time Tenzō interrupted Kakashi by reaching out with his hand, cupping his soulmate's face.
"I think I can get over it, senpai," Tenzō smiled before pulling Kakashi back into his space and leaning in for another kiss.
And that's how they stood when Tenzō's door, a minute later, got kicked in by a very loud Tsunade, cursing the copy-nin for being a lazy, intolerable and pain in the ass, brat.
Fin.