Game of Shadows by Adrian King1

Chapter 116

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor The Gamer. I own nothing, really.

Cover Art: Kissuli.

Chapter 116

[Tayuya]

She sat with her legs crossed and her flute in her hands, as she usually did. As she played, her head moved slowly from side to side with the song. She always did that when she was particularly relaxed and at peace, a state that had once been rare. Her back rested against Eiji's, who was sitting behind her. Around sat the rest of the team, Skitter and Fatass sharing some snacks they'd gotten from a storage scroll, she supposed. Foureyes, meanwhile, had finished checking them all over and had started doing some maintenance to his puppets.

She'd never admit it to anyone, but she'd come to enjoy moments like that.

Moments in which there was no danger around anymore, there was only her and her team. She'd also, reluctantly, admit that she was fond of the position she was in with Eiji, if just in the privacy of her mind. She wasn't very sure, but she thought this was what some people described cuddling being like. Feeling safe in the presence of someone you trusted and cherished.

'God, that sounds so fucking... ugh, emotional,' She thought to herself, holding back a grimace.

If anything, she was sure their version of it was better, really. How could one be safe in someone's arms? If anything, that'd make things worse, getting in each other's way if they actually needed to protect themselves or something. Sitting there though, back to back, they were covering for each other. Tayuya knew no one would ever get to her back with Eiji there, the unmovable, unstoppable guardian that he was. And she liked to think that he felt somewhat like that too with her there, even when he knew everything that happened around him with his threads.

As if he were reading her thoughts, the boy's head dropped back to rest on her shoulder.

She fixed Skitter with a glare when she started giggling, likely because of the blush that creeped on the redhead's face. God, Tayuya hated feeling so fucking foolish all the time. She wasn't one for romance, she wasn't one for relationships of any kind. However, there she was, with her... whatever Eiji was supposed to be to her.

And yet...

"Ninjas from Iwa are coming," Eiji announced, his voice soft, almost a whisper. It didn't really matter what his tone was, Tayuya supposed. Nobody moved overly much, but everyone's eyes sharpened a little. She could see their minds shifting to professional mode, as it were. Foureyes gave a finishing touch to whatever he was doing and stood up, his puppet hands floating a bit before settling inside his waistband. Skitter, for her part, cracked her neck but otherwise remained where she was, lazily swinging her foot under her. As for Fatass, one could be forgiven for thinking he hadn't even noticed, if not for the way his eyes narrowed slightly.

"What do you think will happen now?" Foureyes asked and Tayuya heard Eiji take a deep breath in through his nose, practically on her ear. "We did get orders to be careful and not cause an international incident."

"Kumo caused an international incident," Eiji replied, and Tayuya could practically see him rolling his eyes. Really, who the fuck was dumb enough to try to make a joke out of them and think they'd get away with it. Clearly, people were cursed to forever underestimate them, she supposed, especially Eiji. Then again, he always held back, always had a card or ten up his sleeve. Hard not to underestimate someone when you didn't even know how far their abilities went.

Tayuya wasn't really surprised when she saw the Tsuchikage himself appear with a small army of his ninja behind him. 'Way to understate things, Fearless Leader,' She thought to herself. She wondered what information had reached their ears. Judging by the number of ninja and all, she'd bet they'd only heard Kumo had passed through the border in numbers and not that their team was taking care of it.