Archive of Our Own ^beta

“You guys suck,” Anko complained. It was too early for them to go home. Sure, it was after midnight, but that hadn’t stopped them before.

The fire had burned low, and they’d run out of alcohol and stories to tell. “There’s nothing else to do,” Raido pointed out as he stood, looking down at her. “At least, if we head back, we could swing by someone’s place. Get some food. I don’t know, something.”

“I don’t want to go back yet.”

“Then what do you suggest?” Raido’s question was heavy with sarcasm, assuming that she wouldn’t have a response and would, inevitably, fall to the will of the group. None of them had a particular desire to end the night, either, but they’d exhausted all their options. The evening had begun to die in its natural course; there was no reason to fight it.

Anko scoffed. “I don’t know.” She looked around the clearing, doing her best to find something that could entertain them. Her eyes settled on the lake as she suggested, “You guys ever skinny dipped?”  She grinned. “It’s fun. Everyone has to do it at least once, for the experience.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” Tenzo pointed out, arching an eyebrow at his friend.

“Of course it is!” Guy shouted, flashing his bright smile. “We’re young! It’s our duty to experience everything we can!”

Surprised by his enthusiasm, Anko decided to see how far she could make this go. “Guy’s right.” Those were dangerous words, ones that were almost taboo in their group. By having at least one other person on his side, Guy was willing to do just about anything. While this was, for the most part, used for the common good, it had been restricted due to some nefarious uses. She pushed herself to her feet and placed her hands on the back of her head. “If you guys wanna go home, fine. Guy and I will just have all the fun.”

“Now, wait a second,” Hayate protested, suddenly feeling left out. He knew what she was doing, how she was being manipulative of the group dynamic, and it infuriated him that he was falling for it. But, his conscious mind was silenced by the alcohol he’d consumed. He had enough cognizant thought left to realize that he could blame whatever he did on the beer if it didn’t turn out in his favor.

“If you want to come, then come.” Anko smirked. “The more the merrier. But I’m not gonna let you guys kill the night because you’re too chicken.” Her last word imparted a challenge that lingered when she turned her back on her friends. Whereas she walked to the water’s edge,

Guy ran, somehow stripping as he went without tripping over himself.

Genma and Raido exchanged a torn glance. Genma raised his eyebrows, Raido blinked, and they came to their silent decision to join the others. Hayate took longer to decide, bouncing from one foot to the other for a brief second before bringing up the rear, jogging after his friends.

Before Tenzo had a chance to ask, he saw Kakashi shrug and start walking after the group. Without looking back, he made a ‘come here’ motion with his hand over his shoulder. Up until that point, Tenzo had been able to withstand the peer pressure; he snapped like a twig when he was the last one hanging back. The last of his resolve disappeared when he heard Anko call his name.

“Come on, already, Tenzo!”

Between Anko and Kakashi, he didn’t have much of a choice. Putting on a show of reluctance, he followed after them, arriving just in time to get caught in the aftermath of Guy’s plunge into the lake. He sat down on the ground to remove his shoes.

He noticed Anko move to let down her hair, which was a rare sight. It didn’t escape him when he saw her fingers brush against the black, tattoo-like symbol on her back when she let her hair fall, her body relaxing when the mark was covered. Feeling his eyes on her, Anko glanced back at Tenzo. For a brief moment, the two exchanged a knowing look, and he gave her a small smile in solidarity. They were the only ones in their little group who could understand just what the other had been through; not even Kakashi could relate to him in that way.

The moment passed when she regained her sense of self and dashed into the water after Genma, Raido, and Hayate.

“Maa, Tenzo.”

Tenzo tossed his shirt to the side before looking over at Kakashi, who was waving him over, still fully clothed. He picked himself up off the ground and walked over. “Hm?”

“Do your senpai a favor?” Kakashi held out a kunai, handle-first, at waist-height. “I didn’t think this through all that well.”

Tenzo took the weapon in his hand before giving Kakashi a look of confusion. “What?”

“My mask is attached to my shirt. I was hoping you could cut it off for me.”

“Senpai, really, you’d rather ruin a shirt than let everyone here see your face? We’re all friends. God knows I’ve seen way more of Guy than I ever wanted to tonight. By comparison, your face doesn’t seem like such a big deal.”

Kakashi let out a sound of distress as he thought it over.

“C’mon. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“I’ll ruin my mystique,” Kakashi answered, using wit to keep the conversation at bay.

“What are you waiting for?” Guy called, cupping his hands around his mouth.

“Maybe it’s a good step. Let your guard down a little bit around us.” Tenzo gave Kakashi a disarming smile. “Or, you could just leave your shirt on. You’d look ridiculous, but it’d work.”

“Quit flirting and get in the water!” Anko insisted, laughing at her own comment. The look on

Tenzo’s face when he glared at her only made her laugh harder.

“I’ll drown you, you know!” Tenzo warned as he walked back to the edge of the lake.

“Come at me, then!” Anko taunted her best friend. As Tenzo began to strip himself of his pants, she realized that he intended to do just that. She started to swim further out into the lake to stay away from him, not entirely convinced that he wouldn’t follow through with his threat.

Kakashi stood on the bank, sighing as he weighed his options. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he felt somewhat left out by not joining his friends. Even Tenzo, the newest addition, had become fast friends with Anko. Sure, he was currently chasing her with death threats, but when it came to Anko, it was all in good fun. Maybe Tenzo was right. Maybe it would be good for him to let his guard down a bit. He’d worn the mask for so long that it was a habit more than anything else. With no small amount of reluctance, he decided to take a leap of faith.

Tenzo had easily caught up with Anko, who was far less easy to get a hold of than he’d anticipated. While he was larger, she was quick and willing to fight dirty. He’d managed to dunk her beneath the water, but she sunk her feet into the bottom of the lake and pushed forward, grabbing him by the shins and pulling him under. Both broke the surface, sputtering and catching their breath. Anko moved first, grappling with Tenzo until she stood behind him, one foot against his lower back and both hands pulling his arm behind him.

“Ah! Dammit! Uncle! Uncle uncle uncle!” Tenzo protested, relieved when she finally let him go.

“What was that?” Anko demanded, cupping her hand behind her ear.

Tenzo’s gaze darkened as he spoke the words she wanted to hear, the ones that ended any mock conflict between them. He sighed. “I’m your bitch.”

“Damn right!” Anko shouted. “ My bitch. Ha!”

“I’ll get you next time. Just wait.”

“I’ve been waiting, boo.”

“Oh, shit,” Genma taunted.

“Oooooooo, damn, Tenzo,” Raido chimed in.

“You’re all assholes,” Tenzo huffed.

“Maa, don’t be so mean,” Kakashi grinned. “You lost, fair and square.”

“That’s only because Anko fights dirty,” Tenzo protested, looking at his senpai, who had finally decided to join him.

“It’s the best way.” Anko flicked Tenzo’s ear, and he yelped, leaning away from her. She turned to Kakashi and smiled. “About damn time, Hatake.” She fought to keep her surprise hidden when she saw that he had taken off his mask. She had a feeling that he wouldn’t appreciate it if they made a big deal out of it, so she opted to say nothing at all.

Raido caught on quickly and followed Anko’s lead. “Yeah, thought you were gonna sit on the grass like some old lady.”

“Rival!” Guy shouted, sloshing through the water in Kakashi’s direction. “Let’s have our own test of strength and endurance to see who is the bitch!”

“Guy, no.” Kakashi’s eye widened as he took a step back, holding his hands out in front of him. “That’s their thing, not ours.”

“Nonsense! I challenge you!”

“I forfeit.”

“That’s not very sportsmanlike!”

“Yeah, Kakashi,” Anko smirked.

Kakashi whipped one arm around to point at Anko, giving her a warning glare.

“Come on, Guy, he said no,” Tenzo protested on behalf of his senpai.

“What, you worried Kakashi’s gonna end up Guy’s bitch?” Anko teased, placing an arm on Tenzo’s shoulder and leaning against him. “Not like it matters, ‘cuz you’re mine, anyway. Kakashi’s gotta beat me to get that right.” She winked up at Tenzo, who fought the urge to roll his eyes at Anko’s less-than-subtle innuendo.

“Let’s settle this in a little friendlier way, hm?” Kakashi offered, giving Guy a nervous smile that caught him off guard, only because it could actually be seen. “Shall we?”

Guy nodded seriously. Both ninja turned into battle stances, one fist extended in front of their chests. They tilted their heads simultaneously and began to move their fists up and down. “Rock, paper, scissors!”

Guy faltered as he looked down at his open palm, and to Kakashi’s extended index and middle fingers. “It’s me,” he mourned. “I’m the bitch.”

“There’s always next time, Guy.” Kakashi reached out and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

Anko leaned forward, peering around Tenzo. “Imma need a second set of eyes here, because I'm just buzzed enough that I'm not totally sure that I'm not hallucinating. I swear to god there's some creepy-ass kid over there.”

Tenzo followed her gaze to the bank, where, sure enough, a child in ANBU gear was waiting patiently to be noticed. “Senpai?” Tenzo poked his shoulder before gesturing to the young shinobi.

Kakashi groaned. “It's our night off,” he bemoaned, looking up at the sky. “What is it, Weasel?” he demanded as he turned his gaze back to the child.

The young man beckoned to Kakashi and Tenzo, not saying a word. The two exchanged a glance, well aware of what that meant. They were being called in for duty. “We gotta go,” Tenzo lamented, informing his friends of the current situation.

“Can he just call you in like that?” Hayate asked. “I mean, it's not like either of you are stone cold sober.”

“If old man Third has a problem with it, he can kiss my ass,” Kakashi growled in a low tone. His annoyance was painted on his face, clear without his mask to hide the grimace he wore.

Tenzo sighed. “We'll meet you there!” he called, and their comrade nodded before disappearing back into the forest. The pair of ANBU agents made their way out of the water and began to dress themselves. Their clothing clung uncomfortably to their wet skin, but there wasn't anything to be done about that. Kakashi was almost looking forward to dripping water in the Hokage’s office out of pure spite.

Kakashi pulled on his shirt and tugged up his mask. When he tied his hitai-ate, his wet hair hung lifelessly down around it. Tenzo snorted, fighting back a smirk at the sight. He received a glare in return.

Fully clothed, the pair waved a goodbye to their friends before heading through the woods back to the village. Their speed did little to dry them off, and they arrived at the administrative building in almost no time at all. Tenzo had the presence of mind to put on his mask, and Kakashi quickly followed suit.

Upon entering the Hokage’s office, neither was surprised to see the newest member of Team Ro already standing at attention. Hiruzen looked up from the scroll on his desk and arched his eyebrows in question at the new arrivals.

“Sir,” Kakashi greeted, well aware that they made an interesting sight. He had to take a second to wrangle his hair out of his good eye.

“You smell like a fish market.” Hiruzen shook his head. Kids these days. “I have an urgent mission for Team Ro.”

“With all due respect, sir,” Kakashi interrupted, “tonight was supposed to be a night off for myself and Cat. We hadn't expected to be called in, and neither of us is in any shape to run a mission.”

“So I gathered.” Hiruzen pinched the bridge of his nose. “Nonetheless, this is a mission that will be best carried out by your squad.”

“Again, sir, with all due respect, I suggest that you assign Tiger the temporary post of leader. Weasel, here, has the Sharingan, so unless the mission requires Cat’s unique abilities, it could be completed without either of us.”

Hiruzen stopped to think for several moments. “Very well. The two of you are dismissed. Do yourselves a favor and get showered.”

“Sir.” Both Kakashi and Tenzo bowed before exiting the office, trailing water after them.