Hayate was impressed. He knew Kotetsu was good at traps, really, but it was always amazing to see the spiky-haired teenager buckle down and rig up something as complex and tricky as this. Kotetsu had always had a knack for traps, even from their Academy days.

The place they'd chosen for their little ambush was along a slightly clearer stretch of the road. The trees weren't as close, here, and the old trade road dipped into a sort of hollow. The ground had a light covering of lingering snow. The air was crisp and cold, with a pale winter sun playing hide-and-seek with streaks of soft grey clouds.

It was hardly a day for kidnapping and ransoms, but that was what they were here for. Ambush some noble's son and the escort, and take the child from here to the shrine. A second team would be waiting there. Drop the kid off, and ANBU's part in this was done. Why they'd sent ANBU, Hayate wasn't sure. Perhaps for the level of combat, or the unconfirmed threat of mercenary ninja in the target's escort.

Well, it wasn't his job to wonder. It was his job to do as he was told.

Though there wasn't much for him to do, right now. Kotetsu was busy with his traps, and not inclined to talk. Hayate would be more hindrance than help in the setting of the traps. He noted down precisely where they were, however, fixing them all firmly in his mental map. It wouldn't do to get himself caught up in one, when it came to fighting.

So, he was perched on the lowest branch of a pine, just a few feet from where Kotetsu crouched over his work. Hayate liked trees, and this one was tall enough that he could scramble up and periodically check for their targets. It made him feel more helpful, though not any less bored.

Idly, he pulled a tiny pinecone from a branch. A shower of snow drifted down. Hayate glanced down after the snow, and caught Kotetsu looking up at him. The other teenager gave a guilty sort of start and quickly turned back to his work.

Hayate made a wry face and resisted the urge to sigh. Being crushed on gets old fast, he thought with some annoyance. Not that Kotetsu had been acting stupid or anything--if he had, Hayate would have refused the mission. Not stupid, but ugh, I hate being stared at. Makes me twitchy.

The pinecone in his gloved hand was small and perfectly formed. It was a shiny light brown, very rounded. He rolled it across his palm, and glanced down.

....Kotetsu's armor gapped open when he leaned over like that.

Hayate looked at the pinecone again, in sudden wicked inspiration.

He shouldn't.

It looked like it would fit perfectly. Just the right size and roundness and weight.

But he shouldn't.

Kotetsu leaned over just a little further. The angle was perfect.

Hayate gave into the temptation. He leaned over and dropped the pinecone.

Kotetsu was just about to straighten up, survey his traps, when something dropped down his armor.

"Yaaah!"

He instantly clapped a hand across his mouth - mission, you idiot! - and squirmed, trying to get whatever it was out of his... armor. Thank all the gods that it was just in his armor.

It did mean, however, that he had to stay hunched, in order to get a hand in. Because when standing up, the armor was fitted snug to his body, like it was molded for him. His fingers snagged hold of... something small, roundish, strangely rough.

A pinecone. He stared at it for a moment, and looked up to see Hayate not-quite-laughing.

"... you..." he started, frowned, and picked up a handful of dusty snow. See if Hayate still could not-laugh like that with a face full of snow!

Wow. I didn't know he could hit that note, Hayate thought with decided glee. It was all he could do not to laugh, one hand pressed over a grin so wide it hurt his face. The angle had been absolutely perfect. And the yelp, and when Kotetsu spun around, oh the look on his face...!

Hayate squeaked, trying not to laugh or cough, and decided it was time to beat a hasty retreat when Kotetsu scooped up a handful of snow.

The fluffy snowball still made an impressive trajectory, and slapped into the trunk inches from Hayate's ear as he shot higher up the tree. He kept going without pause until he hit the highest branches that would bear his weight. There, up at the gently-swaying top, he turned his face to the sunshine and smiled until his cheeks ached.

Being glared at was far better than being stared at. It was hard to think about a crush, when said crush was being annoying. Hayate chuckled, pleased with himself, and glanced down at the road.

His smile and mischievous satisfaction dropped away when he saw the moving figures: a wagon and several men on foot. About three on foot, and at least one more directing the beast pulling the wagon.

The sun faded away behind a cloud. Hayate pulled on his painted bird-mask, and slipped silently down the tree. No more time for play. They had a mission to do.

The fact that Hayate'd dropped down with his mask on only confirmed what Kotetsu'd heard. The sound of people moving, metal jangling, carried well across the almost barren, wide road, and it could only mean one thing.

He slipped his own mask on, cutting off his fogged breath.

Show time, he thought, as he melted into the trees, on the other side of the trap arrays.

It didn't take long for the first trap to spring - wire uncoiling with a sharp metallic snap, startling the mule, chakra burning ozone sharp in the air.

Right. Kotetsu tugged on the wires he still held, and flitted through the trees, along the side of the road, activating his traps one by one, moving closer to the noisy party.

Someone was caught - he could hear the cursing - but sadly, it was only one, not the three his trap could accommodate.

Hayate stayed in the lower branches of his chosen pine-tree, and watched as the group of travelers moved in. Three men looking like guards, two in front, one in the back...a man guiding the beast--a mule or donkey, Hayate never could tell the difference--that pulled the wagon.

Hayate caught the flicker of motion and moved, tracking it. The damped chakra told him, even before he actually saw him, the other was ninja, and moving parallel with the little caravan.

Hayate flicked a set of kunai into either hand, and let fly as soon as he had a clear shot. The ninja nearly fell out of the tree dodging. Hayate didn't let him recover, slinging another spray of kunai and closing fast. He could hear the commotion as the first of Kotetsu's traps was sprung.

The ninja wasn't wearing a headband, but that wasn't important. The handful of shuriken he'd thrown was and Hayate drew his katana. Rather than sacrifice his advantage of speed and surprise, he kept coming and knocked most of the shuriken away with a sweeping stroke. One glanced off his mask with a single shrieking note.

The ninja just barely got a kunai up in time to deflect Hayate's first strike. Steel rang loud and bright beneath the cloudy sky, and Hayate's lips quirked in a tiny eager smile.

With a curse, the man pushed away and dropped to the forest floor. Hayate lunged after him, pushing chakra, feeling the first hot rush of adrenaline flood his limbs.

Ninja first. Then he'd go see what hadn't been caught in Kotetsu's tricksy traps.

Kotetsu leapt, and then he got a face full of angry guard. Kotetsu slammed him aside with an arm, armor taking most of the blow, and he ducked in under another the slash of a katana, and kicked.

He could see a wagon, the mule's ears flicking back and forth, its eyes wide and white. Wasn't going to bolt, hopefully, what with all the people in the way. Kotetsu really hoped it wasn't going to kick either.

There was a scream to the side, just off the road, and the pop of chakra told Kotetsu that someone'd tried to sneak up behind and off to the side, and had gotten into another trap he'd laid.

"Fucking ninja!"

Yup, fucking ninja. Kotetsu grinned behind his mask, slammed the pommel of his kunai into someone's side, felt bone crunch and kicked off the falling man, bounding over one of his comrades, to land right by the wagon.

Target within reach, he thought, and then a shuriken thunked into the wooden frame of the covered wagon, just missing Kotetsu's ear by a hair - several, in fact, as he whipped around to just barely leap up, avoid getting his feet swept under by a trim kunoichi.

Well, fucking ninja.

Dodging blades was one thing. Dodging fireballs was quite another.

Hayate skidded in the snow and leaf-litter and watched the flames lick around the tree at his back, as he avoided getting burnt again. "Curses," he growled, and sheathed his katana to free up his hands. As he formed seals he took off, scurrying up a tree on the very edge of the road.

He dropped the final seal, and a set of shadow clones popped into existence on the branch above him. He drew his katana again, and the clones did the same. One doppleganger image dropped down to the forest floor again. The other scooted along the branches. Hayate paused to catch his breath and not-cough, fighting against the burn in the back of his throat.

Coughing would give him away far too easily. He wasn't going to. Instead he checked to make his right shoulder wasn't that badly burnt: adrenaline did funny things to pain sometimes.

Down below, the first clone broke out into the road, a fireball right behind it. Hayate winced as the clone took the blow and vanished, but spotted the annoying ninja. A quick translocation, and he was right behind the man, cutting him down with a flashing upward stroke. He flared chakra along the blade, shearing through ribs and spine. The man dropped, nearly cut in two.

And that's for your stupid fireballs! Hayate thought at him fiercely.

He and his remaining clone charged out into the road. Hayate took quick stock of the situation. One guard trapped, one down, a third trying to get the frightened mule to budge....and a kunoichi getting ready to put her kodachi right through Kotetsu's chest. Hayate shouted and flung a handful of kunai, but that was all the help he had time for.

The third guard closed faster than his bulk seemed to allow. Hayate parried the sweeping blow and felt the power jar down his bones. Why are they always bigger than I am? he wondered, and skipped back a step as his clone stepped in.

The kunoichi dodged some kunai, and in the moment of distraction, Kotetsu shoved up and close, slamming the heel of his palm up her jaw hard and he could feel the solid crunch of her teeth forcibly meeting, and possibly cracking.

Kotetsu followed up with a hard shove of his kunai into her gut, hopefully putting her down for the count, before he turned to the mule.

The guy whose ribs Kotetsu'd cracked had somehow gotten up, and was tugging at the mule now. He looked up, and gibbered as Kotetsu loomed at him and Kotetsu just vaulted over the animal, barely brushing its back as he slammed his feet into the man's shoulder. "Thanks," he said, landing next to him and neatly putting him out.

Aaaand that was it. All done. Except for Hayate's man, which Kotetsu was sure that he was fully capable of taking care of.

Right. Kotetsu made his way to the back of the wagon, poking his head in.

And saw a kid, just about Tensei's age, curled in the corner, eyes screwed shut, whimpering.

Well, fuck. Kotetsu retreated, trying not to think about his nephew. The target was isolated, and now it was time to take off with ... it.

Not only was the burly man strong, he was quite good. So far, he'd been able to fend off both Hayate and his clone.

That was going to have to change.

Hayate let a foot slide back, gathering chakra--only the snow and dirt beneath both feet gave, and for a moment he almost lost his balance. A moment too long--the man's blade came around and only a quick twist on Hayate's part kept him unskewered. Mostly unskewered. The impact on his left arm registered before the pain, nearly jarring his katana from his hand.

Hayate's clone lunged in and thrust its blade up through the guard's chest, and it was all over.

The man dropped. Hayate took a moment to switch his sword from left to right, and make sure the guard was very dead by stabbing him again.

His clone tilted its head, and Hayate knew exactly what kind of look it was giving him behind the ANBU mask. "Don't say it," he rasped, with a brief glare, and coughed several times, hard. The clone shrugged eloquently. Hayate rolled his eyes and dismissed it. "Cheeky bugger," he grumbled.

The trapped men were still trapped, and there was nothing moving. The mule was carefully sniffing the limp form beside it. There was a slight commotion inside the wagon, and Hayate hoped it was Kotetsu getting their target, not Kotetsu getting killed. He gave his wounded arm a brief glance. It wasn't too deep, he didn't think. Still worked, and didn't hurt too bad.... Not yet, anyway, though it was bleeding pretty bad.

He fetched up his katana with his right hand, curled his left arm close, and jogged over to the wagon to see if his help was required.

Kotetsu stepped away from the wagon, looked up to see Hayate approach. "Target appropriated," he muttered. And everyone else was mostly out for the count. Except for the people in the traps... "I'll go knock them out, and then release my traps," he said to Hayate. "You take the... target. And... the animal. The wagon's much easier to take with us, I think."

And also because he didn't want to hold the kid. Not kid, target.

Without waiting for Hayate's assent, he veered around to check his traps, disabling the ones that weren't sprung - no point leaving the wires out for anyone to fall into - and took his time to knock out the glaring men with precise strikes, and winding up his wires and string. The ink faded on the bark as soon as he wiped his hands on them, taking back the chakra, becoming faint simple black pigment again, and he trudged back, hoping that Hayate'd gotten the animal to start moving.

Hayate blinked after Kotetsu. Well. He peered into the cart. Their target was a kid, smaller than he had expected, lightly bound and unconscious. He stepped around and looked at the mule. The animal was standing with its head down, ears relaxed, and one hind leg cocked. Hayate decided it probably wasn't going anywhere. And neither was their target.

So he cleaned and sheathed his sword--a bit awkwardly for using his off hand--and sat himself on the edge of the wagon to deal with his arm.

The wound was clean, and not terribly deep, but it was still bleeding, as Hayate peeled off his glove. He scowled at it. Curses. The slice crossed the inside of his arm, part of it bisecting the still-pink scar-tissue from a wound only recently healed. Flexing his fingers made the wound bleed a little faster, but at least everything still worked. Even if it was starting to really sting as the adrenaline in his system faded.

He'd stripped off his mask and was fighting with the stupid tape for the bandage when he sensed Kotetsu coming back. He didn't look up as Kotetsu's shadow fell over him.

"The meeting-point isn't too far. It'd be easier to just carry the target," he told Kotetsu. He paused and stuck his tongue out as he finally managed to get the stupid tape to stick. It definitely wasn't the best bandage he'd ever wrapped.

"It's not like he'd be really heavy," he continued, glancing up at Kotetsu's masked face. The burn on his shoulder pulled. He didn't have anything for it, it would just have to hurt. He looked back down at his wrapped arm. There was blood on his fingers. Without thinking, he lifted his hand and licked the blood off.

Kotetsu blinked, and shuddered, at the sight of Hayate's tongue, pink and bloody and...

"You really shouldn't," he said, instead, voice just a tad hoarse. Because... tongue.

The mask was a very good thing.

"You know, the... licking thing." He was never going to take his mask off ever again. "Cause. Of you know. Disease and dirt and you never know what the other guy might have."

He shifted, looking at the wagon, and bit the inside of his cheek. "The... target. I don't..." want to look at him. Don't want to think... "It's. Fine. You're the ranking shinobi here." It wasn't far. And if... Hayate carried the target...

No. His gaze drifted back to Hayate's injured arm. "Here, I'll do it. You're doin' it messy."

Hayate paused mid-lick, and realized the tips of Kotetsu's ears were bright red. Oh. Curses, that stupid crush again, he realized, and dropped his hand. He couldn't stop the reflex to lick his lips one last time, the taste of blood hot and salty-sweet in his mouth.

"It's all mine, anyway," he told Kotetsu. He cleared his throat, and coughed, briefly. "I'd like to see you do a better bandage with your off hand."

Despite the grumble, he made no protest at all when Kotetsu sat down beside him and started fussing with the gauze. He flinched a little when Kotetsu's fingers brushed over the wound. It stung, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he watched out the back of the wagon, scanning the woods. The sun was out, now, but getting ready to hide behind another grey cloud.

The clouds were getting thicker. Hayate hoped it wouldn't storm. They had a fair ways to go, down to the shrine, and then back to Konoha. If they timed it right, they could do it all and get home by nightfall. If not, well, there had been a little way-station marked on the map. They could weather the night there, if they had to. It wasn't as though they were on a strict schedule.

"You're not hurt?" he rasped, though he didn't think Kotetsu was. The awkwardness in the other's motions was likely only because his ears were still faintly pink. It would have been funny if it hadn't been annoying.

It would have been so much easier to bear if Hayate hadn't known, Kotetsu thought, wrapping the wound properly. Then it wouldn't be quite so awkward between them, the almost-friendship brittle with Kotetsu's stupid crush.

In fact, the way Ginta hadn't noticed made things so much easier, even on that mission he'd been on with him... His mind shied away from the thought, and concentrated on the clouds.

Which looked dark and forbidding.

"'m fine," he said gruffly, sticking the tape down and standing, brushing powdery snow off his pants. "I'll take the target."

If he pretended he... it was a sack of potatoes, it'd be easier to think.

"Thank you," Hayate said, almost absently, and meant it. Kotetsu, having both hands, had done a much better job with the bandage. Hayate wiped the remaining tacky blood off on his pants, and reached with distaste for his bloody glove. Ugh, it was cold now.

Kotetsu seemed oddly uneasy, even though Hayate didn't think he was blushing anymore. He couldn't really tell, but he thought it might be the kid that had Kotetsu so upset--if that flickering glance back at the limp form had meant anything.

Hayate wasn't too pleased with their objectives, either, but it wasn't as though there was murder at the end of this. All their job entailed was finding and snatching the child, and taking him off to the waiting team. Sure, it was a hostage situation, and those always had the potential to end badly....but Hayate doubted this one would. That wasn't to say he was fine with it all, no, but the vague unease was folded away beneath the quiet of a mission-mindset.

"I'll get him," he offered, voice rasping rough. He buckled on his arm-guard as he spoke. "If you'll run point. You remember where we're going, right?"

Of course Kotetsu did....but if Hayate could needle him enough, he'd not be thinking about how the mission unsettled him.

Annoyance fixed a great many problems, Hayate had found.

"Yeah I do," Kotetsu said, relieved, and turned, not looking as Hayate went to retrieve the.. target. "You sure you can manage though? What with your arm and all?"

The rendezvous point wasn't too far away - he could easily take point.

The mule scuffed a hoof in the snow, the sound the only thing in the quiet except for breathing of the people still alive - Kotetsu counted them idly, two definitely alive, the rest possibly dead but definitely immobile. This wasn't bad. A quick mission, minimal injuries to themselves, and they didn't even have to hand over the target to the client themselves.

Easy.

He felt more than heard Hayate come up behind him, and he didn't quite turn to him. "Ready?"

Hayate realized he hadn't quite thought this through. With the burn on his right shoulder and his katana at his left, there were very limited ways he could carry the kid. Well, over-the-shoulder was out. Cradle-carry was probably easier, anyway, letting the burden's weight land closer to Hayate's own center of balance. He would be steadier that way. He pulled on his mask again and set to it.

The child was a limp burden, surprisingly heavy, but he'd manage. He'd managed with heavier and more awkward loads before.

The weight made his burn sting, and made his wounded arm ache. He ignored it and stepped up behind Kotetsu. The other half-turned. "Ready?" he asked, and his voice was steady now. Calmer.

Hayate nodded, though Kotetsu wasn't looking at him. "Whenever you are." He shrugged the kid higher in his arms, and winced as the motion pulled on the blistering burn. "Tch. You know, you stink," he offered almost off-hand, as he saw Kotetsu get ready to take to the trees. His comment made the spikey-haired teenager check, almost stumble.

Why did he even crush on Hayate? Kotetsu resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at the other teenager, and grabbed for a branch, not quite kicking snow into Hayate's face.

"You don't smell any better," he muttered, swinging hand over hand from tree to tree before remembering to slow down for Hayate.

"I meant your traps. You got what, two out of six? Those odds stink," Hayate said, in a tone that might have been playful.

"Eh?" Kotetsu paused, looking at Hayate, face covered by the blank bird mask. ".... Right. Next time, I'll just put up signs that say, 'Konoha's ANBU kindly invites you to please all stand here, thank you'. That'd show 'em."

Hayate snorted and grinned. Signs. Right. Well, it might work. You never know, he thought with some amusement.

He was glad Kotetsu had slowed down. He wasn't as fast with a burden, nor as adventurous with his hands full of unconscious child. They could still make good time, though.

The clouds were getting thicker. It was probably going to rain, or maybe storm. There was a feeling to the air, like it was slowly charging with energy. Hayate shivered and kept going.

****

The Lesser Inari shrine was old, a small temple tucked in a narrow valley. Hayate dropped out of the trees onto the packed-dirt road. It was clear from snow: the shrine was a popular one. Kotetsu, carrying the target gingerly over a shoulder, landed quietly behind him. Hayate nodded, and walked into the hallway of vermilion torii gates. The tall wooden gates cast a deepening twilight, bunched thickly together. They sky was overcast, now, and a breeze had begun to pick up.

The two masked ANBU emerged from the passageway into a small, swept courtyard before the shrine. Hayate held up a hand to Kotetsu, and they waited. Within moments, flickers of chakra blurred into existence, and the contact team appeared before them. They were four Konoha ninja, all men. One, a tall blonde, stepped forward with a nod.

"ANBU-san. You are prompt."

"The code?" Hayate asked, and wished his voice wasn't so ragged.

The blonde nodded and recited the set of phrases flawlessly. "Takana Aoshi is my name."

That matched what they had been told. "Very well, Aoshi-san." Hayate smiled politely, though it was lost behind his mask. "Good luck to you and your team."

"We appreciate it, ANBU-san." Aoshi half-turned, and gestured to one of his men. "Makato, you're in charge of the target."

The dark-haired young man nodded, and stepped forward to take the child from Kotetsu....Kotetsu, who had gone oddly stiff, with a sudden tight feel to his chakra that prickled up Hayate's spine. It wasn't killing intent...not yet. The regular ninja all tensed, and Makato stopped short, looking startled.

Makato.

Here.

Of all places...

In his mind's eye, Kotetsu could clearly remember walking into the clearing, and getting a face full of moaning, writhing teenager. The shock, and then the sharp, burning anger, and he'd had to turn and run, or else he'd kill someone.

And ninja, when they wanted to kill, could do some terrible damage.

The other ninja were looking at him, wary, guards up, but Kotetsu didn't notice them. All he could see was Makato, his eyes still large and deceptively innocent, and it was like they were on a team again, back when Kotetsu still had someone to call Sensei. Back when Makato'd first kissed him.

"ANBU-san?" Makato asked, hesitantly, warily, and he flinched when it started to rain.

Kotetsu didn't. The rain was freezing, dripping down his hair, soon to trickle down his neck, and he realised that Makato didn't recognise him.

What would he do if Kotetsu were to take the mask off?

Kotetsu took a step forward, and Makato wavered, the tension roiling off Kotetsu more than enough to make the other ninja's fingers twitch, wanting a weapon.

Makato was afraid of him. Hah. As it should be. Kotetsu felt his mouth twist in an ugly expression as he abruptly dumped the target into Makato's hands.

"Let's go."

Hayate tensed when Kotetsu moved, ready to intervene. Despite the danger-warning-predator feel thickening his chakra, Kotetsu merely thrust the limp child into Makato's hold. He moved all tight and fluid, and when he spoke, his voice was low and ugly, almost a snarl.

The cold rain hit Hayate's burn and stung the blistered skin. Kotetsu wasn't waiting. Hayate's place was with his mission partner, with the objective achieved. He nodded to the bewildered team, offering to Aoshi a brief salute. Then, pulling chakra, he caught up to Kotetsu, just as confused as the poor team they'd left behind.

The hot, offensive chakra pushed at him, and Hayate grit his teeth against the wary instinct it ignited.

"Hey," he rasped, and his voice quit. He coughed, and lost ground as Kotetsu kept going. "Hey!" Hayate demanded, catching up again. The cold rain bit into his skin and clothes and hair. It was beginning to rain harder, and the wind was definitely picking up. "Kotetsu!"

He was being ignored. Bewildered and off-balance from the not-quite-killing-intent, Hayate clenched his teeth again and flicked chakra for a quick step into Kotetsu's path, forcing him to stop or collide with Hayate.

"What bit you?" he demanded.

The rain was icy on his skin, and yet he didn't feel it biting. Barely felt anything but the heat, the burning rage.

Kakashi'd once implied he'd do things for the sake of fucking someone. Just to have sex.

But Kakashi hadn't met Makato, had he? Makato was the one who was the fucking traitor, not him!

He almost did slam into Hayate, and he wheeled around, breathing hard, and finally shoved his mask up, his breath billowing out in sharp bursts of fog that really ought to be steam.

"What?" he snarled. "We should get back."

Hayate just managed not to snap back. It was hard: the fierce chakra and being growled at for no reason he could see riled him. His face twitched, but when he pushed his mask back, it was to a very perfect polite smile.

"Sure," he agreed, and his soft voice matched the smile. Perfectly polite and neutral--and utterly fake. He put a tight rein on his annoyance. "But let's get out of the rain. No sense in getting sick. It's not like we're in any hurry."

"You'll catch more bees with honey than vinegar, Hayate-darling." That had been his mother's pet phrase, repeated so often. So he smiled and talked quietly, and consciously changed his posture and the feel of his own chakra. Head angled lower, shoulders dropped and curved in just that fraction. Chakra pulled in quiet and small, unthreatening. Smiling submission, despite the hot anger that trembled behind his breastbone.

"If you don't want to go back to the shrine, I think I saw a hollow tree not far from here." Anything to get out of the wet.

If this didn't work, he was going to sock Kotetsu one on the jaw. And then get out of the stupid cold rain before he caught something like pneumonia. If Kotetsu wanted to be cursed difficult, then he could freeze; he was welcome to it far as Hayate was concerned. But leave him out of it!

Kotetsu took a breath, about to say no, let's keep going, but Hayate was turning, walking back, and Kotetsu exhaled, a harsh sound dampened by the rain.

He shoved his hair back, out of his face, and water crept icily down his ears, his forehead, dripping into his eyes as he tilted his face up.

Where was Ryuichi when you needed him? If Ryuichi were here, he'd understand, and he'd help. He'd do something, and Kotetsu wouldn't be standing out here, foggy breath clouding his vision, icy rain washing down his face, hateful anger burning his skin.

Of course Ryuichi's solutions usually involved beating Kotetsu into the ground, but Kotetsu would welcome it.

The snow was mushy beneath his boots as he stomped back to where Hayate was climbing into the little hollow, and he fisted his hands. "I'll stay out here."

Maybe the rain would cool him down. Maybe. He didn't think he could stand thinking and hating and all of the burning fury in the same small space as someone else.

The hollow tree was a bit smaller than Hayate had remembered, but it would do. The tree itself was one of the giants that grew near Konoha, and only part of its massive trunk was carved out. They would both fit, but it'd be close. Hayate didn't really care. He just wanted to get out of the cold and wet.

He slipped in, already shivering, and looked back when Kotetsu's following footsteps halted. He turned and eyed Kotetsu with some puzzlement, polite smile slipping.

"I'll stay out here," Kotetsu stated, glaring off into the rain.

A hard shiver clacked Hayate's teeth together. He's kidding, right? He blinked at the sullen teenager, wondering if he'd heard him aright.

"And freeze? Th-that's stupid. It's n-not that tight a f-fit," Hayate managed, crossing his arms tightly. "Get out-t of the ra-ain before you c-catch your death."

Kotetsu shook his head. It wasn't that cold. His teeth gritted hard together, all but grinding, but that was out of anger, not cold. "I'm fine."

He made to walk off a little. He wanted... gods he just wanted something. Like the whole last part of the mission not to have happened.

He also never wanted to see that team again.

Yeah, right. Try telling that to Intel.

Hayate stared after his partner in disbelief. He shut his mouth and took the short step to the entrance of the hollow. Not poking his head out into the rain again, if he leaned around he could see Kotetsu standing in the steady silver-grey downfall.

If he wants to freeze, well, fine by me. Hayate bit his lip and nipped back into the hollow. He'll be back in a minute, anyway. It was cold out there!

But as his breath made crystal clouds in front of his face, Kotetsu did not reappear. He nibbled his lower lip and debated. He could just stay here, out of the wet and almost getting warm. It wasn't his problem if Kotetsu wanted to be an idiot and stay out in the rain, which was thickening. On the other hand, Kotetsu was his mission partner, which meant Hayate had a sort of responsibility for him.

And...they were sort-of friends, maybe. That....that was more binding than the loose promise of "mission partner."

Hayate groaned. I am just as stupid as he is, he decided. He pushed away from the steady, dry wood of the tree, and shivered out into the downpour.

Kotetsu was standing right where he'd been before, face upturned to the rain. He was soaked through, and shivering. His hair was starting to lay flat. Hayate slipped up to him, and almost reached out to touch the older teenager's shoulder. He didn't.

"You're b-being an id-diot," he said, but without the bite that would make it an insult. "C-come in out-t of the ra-ain already. I d-don't c-care if you wa-want to sulk o-or what-whatever. J-just get out of th-the rain."

"No," Kotetsu said, not turning to look at him. "I'm fine. You can go back."

But Hayate sounded bad though, and... the slight niggly guilt intruded. If he made Hayate stay out long enough, he might get sick - his cough might get worse.

Well, it didn't mean he had to give in with good grace.

"But fine. Since you're. Cold and all. And I'm not sulking." He was angry. There was a difference. He turned on his heel, almost slipped, but he didn't, and Hayate wouldn't say anything if he knew what was good for him.

He let Hayate climb back into the tree hollow first, before he stiffly got in.

He was doing this for Hayate. For his teammate. For his friend.

Hah to you, Kakashi.

Not sulking, my foot, Hayate thought, rather uncharitably. But he said nothing, relieved, and hurried back out of the downpour. Ugh, he was almost as soaked as Kotetsu, which really wasn't fair. He hadn't been standing in the rain for even half as long.

He leaned up against the dry wood of the tree and scrunched a bit to let Kotetsu wiggle in, too. The hollow was almost too small....but after only a moment of uneasy shifting, they were both sitting and out of the rain. Hayate honestly didn't mind Kotetsu's shoulder and thigh against his, more concerned with trying not to shiver so much.

At least the rain had made the burn on his right shoulder stop aching so badly.

For a little bit, they were silent. Kotetsu was just as cold as Hayate was, because his face was pale and his lips not-quite-blue. His shivers were sharp and hard, but infrequent, because he was tense anyway. Hayate pulled his knees in closer to his chest and gave Kotetsu a slant-wise look, taking in the set face, clenched teeth, and sullen glare.

"...so, what's up with you? If you're not sulking."

It wasn't polite to pry, but Hayate's curiosity was eating him alive. And the idiot owed him an explanation for getting them both soaked, at least, if not for his outright weird behavior back at the shrine. Hayate was too cold and annoyed to want to be polite, anyway.

"'m not sulking," Kotetsu gritted out. It was suddenly too warm in here, warm and humid, and his fingers spasmed a moment, hurting. Kotetsu frowned and rubbed them together, noting distantly how pale they looked, and how his fingernails looked almost purple.

He clenched his teeth tighter together, trying not to shiver. Why should he be shivering now? He hadn't been outside.

The water in his hair dripped and pooled on his neck, and he growled a little. "I wasn't sulking," he repeated. "Just thinking."

Hayate frowned, sighed, and coughed hard, several times in rapid succession. He shivered, and attempted to put his arms around his knees. That made his bandaged arm twinge, pulled on his burned shoulder, and caused him to accidentally elbow Kotetsu in the ribs. Kotetsu grunted and pushed back.

Hayate huffed, and coughed again. Annoyed, he decided he was done asking nicely. With cold fingers, he reached into a belt-pouch and fumbled out a piece of honey-candy to suck on. His throat ached.

"What was up with you at the shrine? Why all the killing intent?" he asked, voice ragged and frayed.

Kotetsu's hands looked painfully cold. Hayate's were only barely better, but he was at least a little drier. "Here," he muttered, exasperated, and caught both of Kotetsu's hands in his own. He tugged them into the space between his knees and chest, uncaring that it made Kotetsu twist awkwardly, and puffed a warm breath over both their chilled fingers.

"I mean, for a minute I thought you were gonna hurt that guy," he continued into the quiet, still curled over both sets of half-gloved hands.

"Wasn't gonna," Kotetsu muttered, starting to shiver for real. Shit, had it really been that cold? His fingers felt numb, then prickly hot, and for a moment he almost feared frost bite.

But then, frostbite only started in with blue fingers, not purple. He was just cold.

"Wouldn't kill him." Kotetsu shifted, trying to get comfortable, gave up, and pressed closer to Hayate. Hayate was damp, but warm.

"Was Makato," he muttered. "He should be dead."

He'd hoped he'd died, because ninja died all the time, and then felt a sharp pang of guilt for wishing something like that onto a fellow ninja, but found that it didn't quite erase the emotion.

Oddly, when they were sitting, Kotetsu was the taller one. Hayate shivered as some freshly-cold water from Kotetsu's hair dripped onto his shoulder, then winced as Kotetsu's shift made his arm-guard dig into his bandaged wound, his left arm tucked between his side and Kotetsu's. With a little annoyed growl, Hayate pushed away, fumbling with the straps to his arm-guards. He stripped them off and wedged them on his other side, up between the tree and his hip, wishing he could do the same with his katana.

But he couldn't, so he settled back almost roughly, re-capturing Kotetsu's slow, cold hands and curling over them again. A ninja's hands were extremely important....besides, it was warmer with Kotetsu pulled up against him like that.

"Why should he be dead?" he asked, then shifted his piece of honey candy from one cheek to the other, clinking it against his teeth. "It still doesn't explain you being all weird."

He was prying, but he was curious. And if Kotetsu was talking, he wasn't sulking, and the tension in him was fading away at last. That made the tiny tight prickle under Hayate's skin leave, too, and he could focus more on things like being warm, rather than feeling like he might need to fight.

He blew a warm, honey-scented breath over their hands, and waited for Kotetsu to answer.

"Cause he deserves it," Kotetsu muttered, and curled his fingers a little. Hayate's breath was warm, but not warm enough, and the tingling in his fingers was almost painful. He didn't think they'd work enough to yank his arm guards off, and he'd be colder if he did.

He didn't answer Hayate's implicit question for a bit, why were you being weird?, and in the silence, he could hear rain drum on the tree, the wind blowing in a fine freezing spray through the hole in the trunk. He could hear Hayate's breathing, deep and regular as the other shinobi forced himself to take even breaths, not the shallow ones one would take when cold.

"... was my ex-teammate," he finally said. "He's not... nice." Because it wasn't nice to wish someone else was dead, even if you hated them, and the faint stab of guilt was enough to keep him vague.

It was, after all, just between him and Makato.

"Not nice, hmm?" Hayate let his voice stay low, almost a whisper. It was easier, less of a strain on his throat. "Remind me to always be nice to you, then." The inspecific answer did nothing for his curiosity. He tried to remind himself that being nosy was rude.

He knew other people often had some serious bones to pick with ex-team-mates, though he himself had never had that problem. He was good at being inoffensive. People rarely got upset at him. That was why he'd never had a steady partner for missions. He was more valuable as a free agent to temporarily replace unavailable team members, because he could get along with just about anyone.

He glanced up at Kotetsu, and raised an eyebrow at the faint flush that was clear on the other's still pale cheeks. He decided he did not want to know what had re-ignited the stupid crush, and sighed a slow sigh across their hands. The rain was coming down steadily. A gust of wind veered in abruptly, and Hayate winced away from the blast of cold, closer to Kotetsu.

For a few moments, there was silence in the little hollow. He was wondering what in the world would make easy-going Kotetsu react so strongly, and what exactly Kotetsu defined as "not nice."

Hayate had pretty much stopped shivering by now, but Kotetsu was still shaking every so often. Despite that, his fingers, cupped between Hayate's palms, were a healthy pink and definitely not as cold as they had been.

"I hope," he muttered, "that the rain does not last long." He tried not to say it, but the question spilled out anyway. "So, what did he do?"

Kotetsu had been defensive, hoping that Hayate wouldn't ask the inevitable question, guarding his emotions, when Hayate's whispered, low voice muttered 'remind me to be nice'. Maybe it was just him, or the acoustics in the tree hollow, but the slight emphasis on 'nice' made him shiver, and blush.

Nice indeed. Considering that his thoughts were in line of Makato and what he'd done, and how he currently felt towards Hayate, 'nice' was veering off into territory that would make Hayate intensely uncomfortable. Gods knew how Kotetsu felt about it!

So he was trying not to imagine Hayate being 'nice', when Hayate's question, low and curious caught him off guard. "... he. Was my first," he muttered, and flushed deeper, jerking his face away into the cold gust of wind. It cooled him, and any shivers he had would get written off to the cold. Yes.

"Eh?" Oh. Oh. Well then.

Hayate's face heated abruptly as the implications of that sank in. Maybe I didn't want to know, he thought, wryly. He should probably apologize for prying. "Didn't end well, I take it," he said instead, mouth working ahead of his brain, and cringed.

"Curses. Um, sorry. I'll shut up now," he mumbled, feeling like an idiot.

He stared blindly down at the hands curled all into a knot in the hollow between knees and chest, and decided today was not such a spectacular day. There was rain, and him putting his foot in his mouth. Absently, he ran a thumb up and down the collection of fingers, without thinking that some of those fingers weren't his.

"No it didn't," Kotetsu muttered, and was glad Hayate didn't ask further. He didn't want to revisit the hurt. The anger. The betrayal.

Instead, he could focus on the fact that Hayate was warm, and pressing against him - because it was cold! - and that Hayate was ... stroking... his fingers...

Kotetsu's fingers were sensitive - he'd trained them to be, after all. Sensitive and flexible to be able to knot thin wire, to run a hand across ropes and wire to be able to tell the specific knots straight off without looking at them.

And Hayate's thumb was calloused, warm and rough, if a bit damp, and it was a very nice feeling to have it rub across his own sensitive fingertips, repetitive and soothing.

He shuddered, and looked down. He didn't want to pull away, didn't want to bring Hayate's attention to that fact, even though Hayate had told him in no uncertain terms that he was straight, was more interested in friendship than anything else. And Kotetsu understood that. But...

Why couldn't it be Ginta instead of Hayate? At least with Ginta, he wasn't a person whose friendship was more valuable then the stupid squishily warm crush. Even if thoughts of the crush with Ginta made him flush and squirm uneasily, it was better than thinking about Hayate in that way. Hayate wasn't vicious. Hayate was a potential good friend, and Kotetsu wanted that friendship more than idiotic fuzzy feelings.

He shifted, and pressed closer to Hayate. His excuse was that the wind was getting chillier by the minute.

Kotetsu's shift jarred Hayate out of his thoughts, and he shook his head. His train of thought was entirely gone, and he couldn't recall it for the life of him. He tilted his head a little, and was startled to find how very close Kotetsu really was. Sitting, Hayate was just that much shorter, and for an uneasy moment instinct hissed about being trapped and caught.

It's just Kotetsu, he thought, in response to that, soothing the twinge of fear. Though he still wasn't sure they were quite friends, wasn't certain how it would all end...well, he'd known Kotetsu in the Academy. And though he'd been the victim of Kotetsu's pranks more than once, he didn't resent the older teenager. Much. Kotetsu's pranks had often been humiliating and daring, but they'd never hurt anyone, not like some of the other older student's ideas of fun.

So he looked back down at the nest of hands, and realized what he was doing. He paused,and blinked, folding his thumb back down against his own fingers. There was a tiny sigh and a minute relaxation from Kotetsu--if they hadn't been so close, Hayate wouldn't have picked up on it. He bit his lip, realizing a little too late how that could have been interpreted, especially with that stupid crush of Kotetsu's....

Curses and curses. The day was not....

A change in sound caught his attention.

"Hey, I think the rain's letting up," he announced, softly, lifting his head to look out. The steady downpour did seem to be slackening at last.

Kotetsu exhaled, and pulled away, glad for the excuse, and disappointed Hayate'd stopped.

But Hayate was a friend, and he didn't want to ruin it. He was no more available than Ginta was for all that Hayate was here right next to him. He was as available as Ryuichi.

Kotetsu bit his lip, and scowled. Damn Makato, he'd ruined his day, upset his thinking, and now whatever equilibrium he'd had with Hayate was subtly unbalanced again. He honestly wished he could just forget about him, as he had for the past couple of years.

He leaned towards the entrance, just a shift away from Hayate, and the temperature difference was enough to make him shiver. "Looks like it," he agreed; the rain had turned misty now, barely audible against the bark of the trunk, and if he put a hand out of the tree, he could just feel a light dusting of moisture.

"I guess we should go."

Hayate shivered at the sudden loss of heat, though he found himself oddly relieved that Kotetsu was no longer quite looming over him anymore. He'd thought he'd squashed that not-quite-claustrophobia moment.

"If we want to make it home before dark, yeah," he rasped in agreement, as Kotetsu stepped out into the open again. Hayate snatched up his arm-guards and followed, working to buckle them back on.

It was still cold and overcast, but the rain had stopped now. Most of the snow had been sluiced away, reduced to water again. The forest was wet and bare, dreary-looking. Then the sun speared through the ragged veil of clouds, and the world lit up in a fantastic, blinding display of beauty. Everything was limned and bejeweled, decked out in water and light. For a moment Hayate could only blink at the display.

"Wow," he said at last, and it seemed inadequate. He stared a moment more before he finished buckling his right arm-guard on.

"Yeah," Kotetsu agreed. Hayate glanced over as Kotetsu shook his still-wet head, slinging water droplets everywhere. Kotetsu's hair seemed to bounce back up into an even wilder set of damp spikes than before. He smiled a kind of thin smile. "Let's go."

Hayate nodded and reached to pull his mask down, returning that careful smile with a little crooked one of his own. Mischief made him want to needle Kotetsu, to change that brittle grin into something else. "Mmm, race you back," he challenged, because they weren't that far from home, anyway, and the branches were wet and the footing tricky.

That, and he wanted to stop thinking about being close and warm and far too complicated.

"You're on," Kotetsu answered, and they were off.

The wind was initially sharp and chilly, freezing Kotetsu's hands, making him shiver as his damp uniform cooled rapidly. But soon enough, he warmed up, not using as much chakra as he normally would in an effort to make his muscles work, push them to the maximum.

Scenery whipped by with icy-shards of air, water dripping from pine needles and bare branches above them stinging his fingers, his bare shoulders, blurring into sensation that barely registered, except for the only other person who was keeping up, racing ahead, and he pushed himself more, foggy breath left in a rapidly dissipating cloud behind him.

When they finally skidded to a stop in front of Konoha's gates, the sun was setting, throwing long orange-blue shadows all around them, and Kotetsu's limbs were wobbly, his muscles aching, deep to the bone.

At least he wasn't cold anymore.

Hayate touched the gate first, turning to look at him, head cocked in such a way that might mean a smug smile, but Kotetsu didn't feel up to challenging him. He instead leaned against the fence, rubbing up his arms a little, and sneezed.

It was a hard, forceful sneeze, making his whole body jump and he nearly hit his head against the wood.

"Ow fuck!"

His legs trembled more, and something like warm-cold ache set in. Oh fuck. He was falling sick.

This, he thought miserably, as the gate was laboriously dragged open, was such a bad end to the mission.