The air was electric.

As she sprung forward, he caught her wrist- a grip which was instantly torn away as she thrust her opposing hand towards his gut. His breath was stolen as he instinctively pulled back. Coughs tore from his lungs, something that gave her no pause as she followed his retreat with a series of blows aimed to drive him into a corner. Her eyes were narrowed- mind focused- but her thoughts in no way oblivious to the air.

It'd begun to develop since the night before when they'd spent hours talking on that roof following supper. She'd barely noticed it then- but it was impossible to not see it now. Every time their arms brushed, their bodies twisted around one another as they sought a weak spot in the others' guard, the air around them sparked. Their skin burned.

Neither one of them acknowledged it, they simply continued the practice.

When a kick on Jun's end almost managed to unbalance her, Tenten sprung back. Her breath came in heavy- yet steady- as she studied him with a narrowed gaze.

"I'm not a princess," she announced irritably. "I won't break. Genjutsu- Jun."

He simply shook his head, his own breath heavy and uneven. His refusal to use his typical jutsus happened to be taking its toll- as the Kurama had always been dubbed the one of their group with the lowest stamina. At the same time, he refused to give in and flash his hands through the familiar handsigns- for a reason neither of them was unaware of. Their thoughts on the matter were direct opposites.

Jun thought he was protecting her.

Tenten thought he was going easy on her.

Sure, she was faintly aware of the feelings behind it- as she'd begun to realize that his abilities frightened him. At the same time, she couldn't help her frustration. How could she help him if he refused to act?

"Genjutsu," she urged. "You're going to lose like this- do you really want to lose so easily?"

He rose a brow, his usual cheeky grin in place.

"Easy?" he retorted. "You're calling this, easy?"

Tenten simply rolled her eyes, unwilling to back down from the matter. In turn, he opened his mouth to say something equally joking, but was interrupted as his eyes caught sight of two figures slowly making their way towards where Tenten and Jun stood in the training grounds. Instantly, he had to fight the urge to flee.

After all, one of those blondes was the one person he'd been avoiding at all costs.

"Jun," Noriaki greeted.

He forced his usual, playful smile on his face as both he and Tenten shifted into relaxed stances. Or at least, he forced himself to take the stance she assumed so naturally.

"Nori-kun, Kazue-chan," he replied. "Come to see me kick Tenten's ass?"

Tenten snorted, glancing at him over her shoulder.

"I believe you missed the part where I was winning," she pointed out.

"Nah, I had you on the ropes."

"One more go and I'd-"

"We have a mission."

Jun blinked, his attention pulled from the bantering with a snap. As a mixture of confusion and apprehension flooded through him, he looked to the two Asari with a forced, curious gaze.

"Mission?" he echoed. "Us three? Or ...?"

"You, me, and Nori-kun," Kazue confirmed, her unreadable gaze meeting his eyes without hesitation.

"Already?" Jun questioned, rather surprised.

After all, the girl had just returned and despite the effort he'd put into avoiding her, he hadn't been able to avoid the gossip. It was all over the village- the idea that after spending so much time with Orochimaru there wasn't a chance she hadn't changed. Many believed that she didn't escape- she was let go to be used as a spy, much like the position that Kabuto had once held. It was common knowledge that before her disappearance the girl had become rather close to the traitor. Jun, as little stock as he put into rumor, had assumed that she would be kept under observation for a much longer time to make sure that she was still loyal to the village.

"It's low level. My grandfather insisted, the hokage eventually agreed. Politics at it's finest," Kazue explained.

"Huh..." Jun replied slowly, his gaze shifted from the two of them to where Tenten stood.

She shrugged in response to his questioning look, her disappointment carefully concealed behind a resigned expression. It was a mission, it wasn't like showing that she wasn't happy that they'd have to stop practice would do her any good. In the end, a mission was a mission, and he'd have to go. As if he could read her mind, Jun didn't bother to hold back a sigh as he looked back to the two Asaris.

"Do I have to?" he whined. "Can't you just take Tomoko?"

Kazue's jaw locked, eyes studying him critically from head to toe. He squirmed, an uncomfortable feeling spreading through him. He couldn't help it- it was as if she was seeing through his attitude right to the reason beneath. A strange feeling indeed given that Kazue never seemed to care before- the girl he remembered was much more interested in... well, herself, than what Jun might be thinking. He'd never voiced the thought outloud- but his teammate had been pretty self-centered.

So the idea that she was taking the time to study him now made him wonder if he'd been right in avoiding her. Obviously- she'd learned something.

"No."

"Why not?" he demanded in the same whine, well aware that the Kazue he remembered would be inches from blowing a fuse by his tone and complaints by this point. "I'm having fun- why pull me away for some low level mission?"

"Because," Kazue grumbled. "Jeez, to think I thought you might have grown up in two years. Obviously, I was mistaken."

Jun grinned, momentarily forgetting how much she was unsettling him at the moment.

"Obviously," he agreed. "C'mon, Kazue-chan...me, grow up? That's about as likely as the moon falling from the sky!"

Her expression growing grim, Kazue simply stepped forward rather than reply. As Jun cocked his head- curious as to what she would do- Kazue seized the front of his shirt, turned on heel, and started back the way they'd come.

"I'll try to bring him back in one piece," Kazue called back over her shoulder as Jun allowed himself to be dragged along with only a snicker as a response. "No promises."

Tenten just rose her hand in farewell, letting out a resigned sigh.

"I believe that's about the best one can hope for, with him," she replied simply. "... nice seeing you, Kazue."

The girl faltered slightly in her steps- the genuine words shaking her facade of cool confidence- but kept walking without any other reaction. Within moments, however, she had released Jun's shirt and allowed him to tag along behind them without having to be dragged. As it was, he was simply lucky that she managed to keep a reign on his temper when Jun instantly started up a string of complaints about how no matter how amazing he was, he should be allowed to spend his days off in piece, especially given that he was still "recovering." It was the fact that he said the last bit that had her especially irritated, as Kazue was well aware he'd been checked over by several medical staff since his mission and been given a clean bill of health. With their skills in poisons, the Goto could boast great knowledge of the human body- giving them not only skill in death, but life as well. He'd been well cared for following his injuries in the Moon country.

"Just shut up, Jun," she eventually snapped, fingers curling into a fist at the effort it took to keep from smacking him upside the head like she would have once done. "You're coming, whether you want to or not."

"Fine," he replied, drawing out the single word. "If you're so stuck on being around me, I suppose it wouldn't be right for me to continue to deprive you of my wondrous company."

"Jun," Kazue warned.

"Shutting up~"

"How is that shutting up?"

"Am I allowed to answer that?"

"Dammit, Jun! To think I actually thought I'd missed that mouth of yours!"

"Aww, that's so sweet! I missed you, too, Kazue-chan!"

"Go to hell!"

Noriaki shoved his hands in his pockets, eyes shifting away from his two teammates as they walked. Instead, he looked to the sky, taking in the way the clouds were drifting across the sky at an abnormally fast rate. The weather promised to be interesting. Hopefully, it didn't break before the mission was over.

He had a feeling that their first time together in a while was going to be bothersome- especially given that he wasn't particularly fond of the sudden mission himself. The idea of being out all day- even if it was with one of the two people he would have spent his day following anyways- bothered him. After all, he had dinner plans. An afternoon of these two bickering promised to make the day go by slower than it already would have.

"Nori-kun, tell him I'm right!"

Noriaki blinked, glancing to where Kazue was giving him an expectant expression, then to where Jun was grinning mischievously. Without an ounce of knowledge over what the two had been arguing about, he simply shrugged in response.

"Kazue is right."

"See!"

He had to wonder, how exactly did these two go over two years without seeing each other, then the first time they met up again dive instantly into an argument.

Perhaps, he mused, it meant that they hadn't changed much at all. It would have been nice to believe that- it would mean that he hadn't failed her entirely. Then again, if he really believed that, then Noriaki was a bigger idiot than even Jun teased him for being.

Nothing was the same.

___________________________

The mission turned out to be entirely too simple.

A rather wealthy man had recently come into possession of an old hot springs where all of the buildings were in disrepair. The hot springs was located at the center of a crossroads, therefore while in prime location for travelers, not exactly in the best place to be recruiting help in rebuilding. The mission had originally been intended to go to a genin team, but at the request by the head of the Asari family, it was reluctantly handed over to team Miki. They were simply there to help with the reconstruction.

Upon arrival they were shown to a room that had been readied for the group so that they could put their things away. Jun being Jun, he instantly dropped his bag to the side and began pointedly pulling off his shirt. After a yelling match- which was predictably one-sided- that resulted in a bag being chucked at his head, the boys were offered a separate room from Kazue which she ensured they gratefully accepted. When the entire group had cleaned up from traveling and begun to set to work, the arrangements stayed much the same- Kazue helping with the woman's side and the two boys working on the other. That was until the owner requested that Noriaki and Kazue switch sides- as they needed someone capable of heavy lifting to help with a few needed details in the woman's bath.

Which was how, despite all his efforts, Jun found himself alone with Kazue. It was also how he found himself feeling a bit less comfortable in the half-dressed state he'd settled upon working in. In his mind, originally, it made perfect sense for him to strip down to shorts to work in since he was going to end up soaked if he fell into the springs by "accident." With Kazue's presence, the matter shifted.

Jun, of course, concealed his unsettled feeling in his usual Jun manner.

"It's your lucky day, Kazue-chan," he announced cheekily, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "You get to go on a mission and you get to see a lot of me!"

Her cheeks flooding crimson, Kazue shot him an expression that told him exactly how much she appreciated her "luck." Jun simply laughed in response, his uneasiness fading with the promise this held. If he could keep her irritated, then perhaps things would be how they used to be- with Jun pissing her off and Kazue dismissing any of his actions as being simply him.

"Aw, com'on, you can't tell me you don't like what you see."

She rose a brow, shifting her hand so that the paintbrush she'd been using to stain the wooden fence with was waved in a questioning gesture.

"What exactly am I supposed to be liking, here?" she questioned simply. "Your pale, too-skinny, childish build?"

At her biting comment, her lips twisted up slightly as if to take away the sting. Jun grinned in response, dropping his own brush to settle both of his hands on his hips and take up a "masculine" pose.

"No, no, no, you've got it all wrong! You're supposed to be looking at the muscle and the manliness!"

Her brow stayed risen.

"Where, exactly, am I supposed to be seeing that?"

Jun pouted.

"What, have you gone blind?"

"Hardly."

"Then you should be able to see it!"

Kazue simply rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to the fence as she did.

"You can't see something that's not there, Jun."

"C'mon, you can't be saying that you don't find my sexy body even remotely attractive, now can you?" he demanded, a cheeky edge to his false pout.

"I can, and I am," she replied easily. "Jun, you still have a bit of growing to do before anyone could consider you 'sexy.'"

"Tenten thinks I'm cute," he insisted.

Kazue snorted, although the piece of information was carefully tucked away in her mind for consideration at a later point. Tenten and Jun had always been friends, but she had to wonder if that'd changed into something else during her absence.

"You weren't talking about cute, Jun, you were saying sexy. Cute and sexy are two entirely different things."

"So you think I'm cute?" he questioned cheekily.

"I didn't--"

"Ha, score one for my side!"

"Jun!"

The boy cut off into snickering as she glowered in his direction. In that split second, a decision flashed through her mind and with a spark of mischievousness that she hadn't felt in a long, long time, Kazue dropped her brush to flash her hands through a series of signs. Jun- of course- was too preoccupied with his laughing to notice until it was too late.

"Water Release: Raging Waves!"

Carefully controlling the amount of chakra she put into the jutsu, Kazue placed a hand to her mouth and easily sprayed Jun with a fountain of hot water. Which, of course, had him instantly cutting off in his laughter as he hopped around in a rather comical manner.

"Hot, hot, hot!"

This time, it was her turn to laugh. Something that she cut off within seconds simply to marvel over the feeling. Laughter... it felt so strange when you hadn't done it in such a long period of time. Her hand dropped from her lips to her throat, her expression a mixture of wonder and something darker.

As Jun calmed down, his eyes flicked to her. His amusement over the situation drained from the sight of her expression, his uneasiness around being Kazue returning to take it's place. One of his hands raised to rub the back of his head, eyes studying her critically as if to try and discover what might be going through her mind to cause such an expression. Within seconds, however, she'd reigned it in and leaned down to grab her brush from the ground.

"You never used to use jutsu that freely..." Jun commented after a moment. "That was pretty good, Kazue-chan."

She stiffened slightly, then forced herself to relax.

"I... my chakra control is better than it used to be."

Jun blinked slightly, this piece of news surprising him. Kazue- as far as he was aware- had been in possession of rather advanced control for her age, a requirement for how advanced her medical ninjutsu had been as a result of her heritage. So, to hear her say that that she'd improved her control was strange- even if he should have expected it. They'd been- and still were- children. It was only to be expected that their abilities change. Even as all of this flashed through his mind, Kazue's gaze became as critical of him as his was of her seconds ago.

"I've been meaning to ask, Jun... how has your skill changed?"

He stiffened, able to easily grasp the question as what it was- a question into his stability. Instead of giving the response she might have wanted, however, he gave her his usual, cheeky grin.

"It's gotten even more amazing, of course," he replied. "I could probably kick your ass, now, too!"

Kazue sighed with a roll of her eyes.

"Jun..."

"What, it's true!"

For a moment she stayed silent, turning back to the job at hand. It was only a matter of time, however, before her questions surged to the front of her mind once more and she found her gaze flickering back to where Jun had resumed his own work.

"I met her, you know."

"You met..."

Jun froze in place, his voice cutting off the second that the words clicked. Instantly, his sharp eyes flickered to her, all pretense gone. Instead, that cold, icy blue that had once startled Tenten was in place as he studied her.

"... Jin, you mean."

Kazue nodded, easily concealing how unsettling it was to see such an expression on the light-hearted boy's face.

"I did. She..."

"She's still there, obviously," he cut in, finishing the sentence she seemed to be struggling to complete. Kazue simply nodded in response.

"She asked me to watch you."

Jun purposely returned to his work.

"Oh."

"She was-"

"I don't need watching, Kazue."

At the firm tone that filled his voice, she could only blink in surprise. Within moments, however, she'd recovered and turned as steely a gaze on him as he'd been giving her.

"Jun, how bad is it?"

He refused to even look at her. She drew in a deep breath, then purposely dropped her brush once more to walk around the pool to where he stood. As if her footsteps were chillingly obvious to him, Jun purposely focused on the stroke of his brush as he continued to stain the fence. Kazue stopped at his side and snatched the brush from his hand, her gaze saying just how unwilling to listen to any bullshit he might try to use to distract her she was.

"I promised her I would. I had to leave her behind, but the least I can do is keep an eye on your irresponsible ass, Jun. How bad is it?"

With anyone else, Kazue might have been gentler. She would have used a kinder tone, wouldn't have cursed, but this was Jun. She'd rarely seen him react like this with anything, but when it did it was an obvious sign that he wasn't going to budge easily. The one thing she knew about him for certain was that when needed, Jun had a stubborn streak double the length of hers.

Nice wasn't going to cut it.

He stilled, studying the fence for a full moment as a debate went on his mind. A second later he shifted his head back, lips twisted up as he opened his mouth to reply.

"I'm still me, if that's what you're--"

"Kazue, Jun!"

He cut off, shock flashing across his face at the voice that had interrupted their conversation. Instantly, Jun spun to face the building that lead into the men's bath, his face flooding with heat as his current state of dress and the person standing in front of him met in his mind. For once, Tenten didn't take time to be embarrassed, instead she simply took a few seconds to try and catch her breath as Neji filled in behind her. In the distance, Lee could be heard calling for Noriaki.

"You guys are close, so Tsunade-sama told us to stop by here on our way," she explained breathlessly. "It's Miki-sensei..."

"She's disappeared," Neji finished.

A/N: Perfect ending for the chapter, right? We've reached the arc I've been hinting at since... ages ago! Hope you guys are ready for this!