Game of Shadows - 111 (Patreon)

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

Cover Art: Kissuli.

Chapter 111

Usually, Eiji didn’t much enjoy the bitter taste of coffee… but he’d gladly put up with that. It was a god awful hour to be awake, really, much less work on all the stuff he had to. On the ground in front of him were laid several files and notebooks and loose paper sheets. It would’ve been a mess if he weren’t able to keep track of all of those things through Web Sense.

“And us,” Kage reminded him, sounding slightly annoyed. Eiji just smirked to himself. He wasn’t wrong about that. Even Tsuchigumo was helping, the chakra beast keeping an eye out for anyone that tried to get a look at the things he was working through.

Was it stupid to take Danzo’s files with him to the training grounds? Maybe. The files weren’t that important anyway. Besides, nobody had stopped him, so he’d take that as permission to do as he wanted.

He took another sip of his drink, wishing he had sugar close by to pour a whole lot into the thing. ‘And there's people that drink this without any? They are mad,’ He thought to himself, noting down something before stretching his back.

Almost distractedly, he focused a little more on his team’s training. With three members less than when they’d been at Konoha the last time, they painted a very different picture than they did before. Fu helped a bit to not make it seem like a three person team, at least. Last thing Eiji wanted was to picture himself as the Jounin sensei of a three person team. Especially since he was dating one of them.

“Do we need to leave?” Hachi asked jokingly, making him roll his eyes.

He’d obviously thrown a barrier in between his mind occupants and the outside when he’d gone on a date with Tayuya. It’d have been all sorts of weird to have them there on the back of his mind through the night, after all. ‘Maybe I should do that more often,’ He mused to himself. After all, the twins had been insufferable since then. ‘Not you, Tsuchi,’ He amended when the chakra beast let out a low whine before instantly cheering up at his reassurance.

“Take a break, guys!” He called. Cracking his neck, he turned back to the papers while the squad stopped where they were before relaxing. If they’d thought he would go easier on them because he was distracted or whatever, they’d been wrong. If anything, he wanted to make them work more. He cared about his little band of misfits, if his attempt at a relationship wasn’t enough of a clue.

“It sounds like it failed if you call it an attempt, Eiji,” Hachi pointed out and he grimaced. He supposed she had a point there.

“You know the drill,” He said out loud to his team. “Study, do some light training or whatever. Just don’t be idle.”

“We know we know, Fearless Leader,” Tayuya replied with a roll of her eyes. “You could just say that it’s meant to be for Skitter, you know? Everyone knows that’s what it is.”

“I just didn’t want to put her on the spot,” He told the redhead, massaging the bridge of his nose. “Anyway, if you have nothing to work on that’s not very demanding, just take a break, Fu. Or do so anyway. You’re not actually part of the team, so I’d feel bad about forcing you to work at our pace by yourself too.”

“Ah, that’s ok, Eiji,” The girl said, scratching the back of her neck. “Ah, I could work with, um, with the Seven Tails,” She muttered, sounding a little unsure.

“Sounds good,” He nodded and the girl relaxed for some reason.

“Oh?” Hachi voiced.

“Oh, indeed,” Kage agreed.

“Um, guys?” Eiji asked, confused.

“Nevermind, let’s leave it as a surprise,” Hachi said then, much to his annoyance. He shrugged that off though. If it were something bad, the twins would have told him. He had a feeling that he knew what was up and he wasn’t sure what to think about it.

He was pulled from his thoughts when Tayuya approached him and sat behind him so that their backs rested against the other’s. It wasn’t the first time they sat like that, but it felt different now. He heard the twins snickering in the back of his mind. So he was acting like a fucking teenager, so what? He technically was a teenager!

There was also the fact that as time passed and his previous life faded from his memory more and more, he felt like his biological age more and more. Maybe it was wrong, but that’s how it was for him. He didn’t know if it was hormones or whatever, but he felt like a teenager more than an adult.

Before he could follow that rabbit hole too much, he let himself be distracted by Tayuya’s music as she started playing.

“Can we change plans for that shopping date?” Tayuya’s voice said, and Eiji was sure that he was the only one hearing that. Absently, he felt Kage and Hachi taking a mental step back and taking Tsuchi with them. He himself put a wall in between as he considered the question. “I don’t think casual clothing is my thing, that's all. Maybe we can take it to the shinobi part,” The redhead said.

“Hm, we could do both, really,” Eiji commented, although he didn’t have much of a problem with that plan. He hadn’t used actual casual clothing since the Academy, really. But… “I know some good places for both that are close together,” He offered regardless. After all, maybe having something other than ninja gear to use while he was out of missions or training would help him relax a little.

“You are weirdly insistent on this.”

“You are weirdly insistent on not doing this,” Eiji shot back, and he smirked at the sharp tune of Tayuya’s flute that followed. It seemed he’d hit the nail there. “Why don’t you wanna do this?”

“Nope, I asked first, Fearless Leader,” She mockingly said to which he snorted.

“Because I think it’d be nice to have something to use when I’m off duty. Wearing the same thing I use on missions and during training at home or when I’m walking around is kind of… You know what I mean?” He explained with a shrug before focusing on an assignment he was pretty sure he knew how to deal with. He’d write it down and check with the twins later.

Tayuya, meanwhile, remained silent after that for a long moment.

“Fine, we can go shopping, I guess,” She grumbled, even with her illusion, which was sort of adorable, he’d admit. Eiji did notice that she hadn’t said why she’d been against the idea before, but decided not to push.

“So, tonight?” He asked instead, closing the file he was done with.

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” She grumbled and he chuckled. She could be such a tsundere, it seemed. Or at least tsun, that was for sure. “Shut up,” She spat, which really did nothing to stop him. “Idiot.”

[}-o-{]

[Tayuya]

“This was Bimbo’s idea, wasn’t it?” She asked, her eye twitching as she looked at Eiji and what he held in his hand. The piece of shit had the nerve to laugh at her reaction. At least he had the good courtesy of trying to hold it back, she supposed. He was still a little shit though.

“Not Number Three? I do guess Temari and Yugito are out of the picture,” Eiji replied, smiling widely, his lips twitching as he continued withholding his laughter. Tayuya also didn’t miss the way he completely avoided her question.

“I asked something,” She said, narrowing her eyes. Because if this was his idea then she swore to God she’d do something drastic.

“It was her idea to bring flowers,” He admitted easily, rotating the rose he held in his hand between his fingers. “I chose the rose though. I thought it was fitting, funnily enough.”

“Fucking fitting, is it?” She all but growled as she continued glaring at him.

“Did you know they symbolize beauty and courage?” He said conversationally. “I didn’t. I only knew the love and romance thing myself. Courage particularly surprised me. I picked it for those two first ones, by the way. Although, romance fits well enough, I guess. We’ll see about the other,” He explained, not looking particularly bothered to keep the rose right there with his arm still extended. “Also, I thought the thorns were fitting too,” He added with a smirk, the absolute bastard.

“Excuse me while I throw this shit in the trash. And you better never bring me flowers again, am I clear? Especially one as cliche as a fucking rose,” Tayuya told him in no uncertain terms.

“So it’d be better if I bring flowers that are less cliche? Noted,” Eiji said, and she narrowed her eyes at him again. “No flowers, fine. Chocolate?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Just a little bit.”

With a huff, she took the offending flower and left. Eiji was an idiot, apparently. It was good to learn that quickly, she supposed. So, after disposing of the stupid thing as quickly as she could, she moved back to the door.

“-a special kind of masochist, you know that?” She heard Jirobo say as she approached.

“I did make a team with you guys, remember?” Eiji replied, making her teammate chuckle.

“True enough.”

“Off we go,” Tayuya interrupted, narrowing her eyes at Jirobo when it looked like he’d make a comment. The Fatass had the gall not to be cowered even.

“I think you are better off quitting while you're ahead, man,” Eiji said, probably saving their teammate from something. Tayuya wasn’t very clear what she’d have done, but she’d certainly given the guy a demonstration of why it wasn’t a good idea to mock her.

“I guess you are right. See you later,” The Fatso said as he walked back into the house.

“Fatass,” Tayuya mumbled under her breath as she and Eiji started walking down the street. “Let’s get the civilian clothes out of the way quickly, ok?” She suggested, eye twitching. She’d really prefer not to bother. She’d never considered herself a normal girl. She didn’t think she could look normal, but… Well, she could try, she supposed.

“If you say so,” Fearless Leader said, looking somewhat distracted. It’d have been insulting if his eyes hadn’t trailed off towards where Tayuya’s window was. Instead of going off on him, she grabbed his arm and started dragging him forward even though she had no idea where they were going.

“Not a word, Fearless Leader,” Tayuya hissed to which he only laughed. She didn’t call him fearless for a reason, she supposed. She’d hoped for once he’d have been at least a little afraid, but no such luck, it seemed.

Damnit.

“So, I guess I’ll be bringing roses from now on,” He commented, grinning widely.

In hindsight, maybe she should have waited to put the shitty thing by her window.

[}-o-{]

“God, I hate coffee,” Eiji grumbled as he walked down a hall with a mug in his hand and a scowl on his face.

“Get used to it,” A ninja he passed by told him, which made his eyebrow twitch. “It doesn’t get better,” The guy added, chuckling as Eiji groaned.

‘It’s almost like I work here,’ The boy thought as he continued walking through the halls.

“I mean, you kind of do?” Hachi pointed out. “How many times have you come to do these people’s jobs now?” She added, sounding amused. Then again, she’d come do exactly that herself too. Although, by her tone, she seemed to think of it as a joint effort or something. “I do,” She confirmed and he pictured her nodding.

“Which is all sorts of unfair, you know?” Kage pointed out, somewhat childishly. It actually made Eiji wonder, not for the first time, if the twins were being affected by his mind.

“No, he’s just a dumbass,” Hachi said, and he saw her rolling her eyes in her mind. “People change, Eiji. Especially in extreme circumstances like ours. It’s all fine.”

‘If you say so,’ He mused with a shrug as he reached the door he’d been looking for.

“Hey there,” He greeted as he entered the room, bringing the mug up to his lips to take a sip of the bitter thing. If nothing else, it did keep him awake. Difficult not to, when it was so awful. “Doing well?”

“As well as I can,” Yugito replied from where she sat at a table in the middle of the room. “I’m guessing they sent you to interrogate me?”

“They did,” He confirmed with a nod as he took the seat opposite her. “And you’ll be talking so, let’s skip the middle part, yeah? It’s entirely too early for this shit,” He said, drinking some more coffee.

“That’s not how interrogations usually go, you know?” The blonde asked, raising an amused eyebrow.

“Since when have I done things the normal way?”

“That’s a good point, I suppose,” The Jinchuriki admitted. “You are not gonna write it down?”

“Please,” He scoffed. “As if you didn’t know there’s people eavesdropping. Just get on with it, Yugito. I don’t wanna have to actually try.”

“... What do you want to know?” She asked, deflating on her seat.

As a response he just stared at her, raising an eyebrow. Did she think she could get away with hiding information like that? Really? No questions. She’d be telling them everything. She knew the T&I team would dissect everything she said and come back for anything she tried to conceal. And if she purposely hid something or lied, well…

That’s why he was there, after all.

He was just the threat, as it were.

“It was worth a try,” She said with a defeated half-smile.

[}-o-{]

[Eiji Satou]

“Been a while since the two of us spent time without the others, right?” He asked, looking at his hand as a few bugs wandered over it. They were currently sitting in the backyard of his friend’s family, actually, which he’d seen only a handful of times. Shino inviting him over had been quite the surprise, he had to admit.

“You’ve been busy. I understand that, and so does everyone else,” His bug controlling friend replied. “Everyone’s happy to see you relax a bit more, especially with how you were when you arrived from your mission.”

“Things have been going well, surprisingly enough,” Eiji said with a nod. “It’s making me a little nervous, but otherwise it’s all fine.”

“That’s good to hear,” Shino nodded back, although he seemed to suddenly be more focused on the bugs crawling on Eiji’s hands. “You really don’t mind them?” He asked. The boy could never quite get over the impression that people should be disgusted by his bugs, it seemed. He kept asking that from time to time, even after years of being in the group where most of them didn’t really care.

“Not at all,” The boy answered with a shrug. “As long as they don’t bite me or anything, bugs are fine. Are there other types you could show me?” Eiji asked curiously.

“I guess I could ask my parents about their hives. They have some more variety to theirs,” Shino said, pushing his shades up. Although Eiji thought he looked almost excited. Or, as excited as he could look, at least.

“That’d be neat.”

[}-o-{]

“Well, certainly not what I expected when I decided to visit over here,” Eiji said, a little strained, as he worked on a dish. He was a little more focused than he usually was, but that was to be expected. He didn’t make a habit of cooking at a restaurant, after all.

“Sorry,” Chouji apologized for what felt like the hundredth time. “I just, things got a little out of hand and a family friend asked for help and I-”

“It’s fine, Chouji,” Eiji interrupted as he moved to a different part of the process. “I don’t mind. I like cooking.”

“Still, you were trying to rest and-”

“It’s fine,” He interrupted again with a roll of his eyes. “It’s nice practice, at least. Did you know that I’d been thinking about starting a restaurant whenever I can actually take a break from being a ninja?”

“I don’t think so? But that’s great!” The Akimichi exclaimed, guilt completely forgotten. ‘Success,’ Eiji thought to himself with a smirk. “What type of restaurant? Where? What did you have in mind? You gotta tell me, man. You can’t just say that and leave it at that.”

“Well, I wasn’t very sure, honestly. It’s not like I have a favorite type of food I’d like to focus on or anything,” Eiji mused as he continued cooking. “I do want to hire some people though. I’d like to not have to rush for everything like this,” He added, considering their situation.

“Yeah, I guess I can get that,” Chouji agreed with a chuckle. “Well, my family and I can certainly help with that. We know a thing or two about restaurants and such. And we know people that could be interested… Or they do, probably.”

“Thanks, Chouji, but that’s a thing for the future. For now, we gotta finish here so we can actually eat stuff instead of just cooking.”

“Hear, hear.”

[}-o-{]

[Kabuto Yakushi]

“He’s doing better, if slightly,” He commented, expectedly getting an angry reaction from the person next to him.

“Say one word, Four Eyes, one word. I dare you,” Tayuya all but growled at him even as she continued playing. He could have laughed if he didn’t already know that was a bad idea. Really, her reactions were half the reason everyone thought it was fun to bring up her new… relationship with Eiji. Kabuto wasn’t sure there was any label put on that just yet.

“I wasn’t even talking about that,” He said truthfully, giving the redhead a small smile as he saw a light pink dusting on her cheeks. “It’s just that since he’s with you more often, it’s hard to get a moment to talk about it. I’ve already talked with Jirobo.”

The current opportunity had been given by their aforementioned teammate. Eiji was, after all, helping Jirobo make an Earth Release technique that would help him move around easier. It would be quite the improvement for the boy’s more static fighting style, that was for sure.

As for Fu, someone that had joined their training more than once since they’d come back, she was currently elsewhere. She’d been getting some help getting settled and being taught some of the things she needed to know about Konoha. Differences with Taki and such.

“So, you wanted to just say that?” Tayuya grumbled, settling on glaring towards the pair. Kabuto was fairly sure that Eiji could see them even if he wasn’t looking. There were bound to be a bunch of wires all over the place. Hell, for all he knew, the boy could even be hearing their conversation. Although, he wasn’t too sure about that… or concerned, for that matter.

“I did,” Kabuto answered, shrugging. He didn’t know why he felt like sharing his thoughts with people sometimes, but he didn’t see the problem with that. Thus, he did. Following those whims whenever he could was always nice. “Jirobo is doing very well too, but he’s a given. He’s a simple guy to please.”

“Are you going somewhere with this, Four Eyes?” Tayuya asked impatiently, even if he was pretty sure she knew what was doing.

“I’m trying to make sure the team is doing well,” Kabuto explained, turning to gaze towards Eiji and Jirobo to see their team leader explaining something to the bigger boy. “So, how are you doing?” He asked, fully expecting a smack at the very least. The things he did as second in command.

“I’m fine,” The redhead answered curtly. Kabuto was honestly surprised that was all he got. He was sure she was going to react more aggressively. “If that’s all?”

“That's all,” He confirmed with a shrug. There was more he could ask, but he didn’t feel like pushing the girl’s buttons too much. Chances were that would end badly. Besides, as an ex-spy, he could infer a lot of things just by watching and listening. That he preferred the direct way as of late didn’t mean he’d just forgotten what he’d learned through his life.

“Eiji Satou,” A voice called, and Kabuto stiffened. An Anbu had appeared in the Training Grounds. He couldn’t help but wonder if this was going to end like the last time Eiji, and the team, had been called. He hoped not. His leader had been doing a lot better than when they’d arrived to Konoha the last time, but he was still far from being well.

‘At least-,’ Kabuto thought, somewhat annoyed. ‘-he’s not easily annoyed anymore. He’s just tired.’

“Yeah?” Eiji asked, barely turning to look at the Anbu. He sounded disinterested, almost like he could barely bother to give the ninja the time of the day. “If it’s information, I’m not gonna go all the way to the tower.”

Kabuto thought it was funny that he said that. Not because it was a clear insult to the Hokage and a lot of other people, but because Eiji could actually get away with that. Easily too, he supposed. The Anbu remained silent for a long moment.

“The Hokage said he has news for you and your team,” They said eventually and Eiji groaned before pushing himself to a standing position from where he’d been sitting on the ground. He couldn’t quite hear, but judging by Jirobo’s expression, Kabuto guessed Eiji had had a few choice words to say.

“This better be something good, or I swear to God…” Their team leader grumbled as he approached the Anbu. “Everyone, we are going,” He called, making the now only three members of the team follow him.

“They only called for you, Satou-san,” The Anbu told him, to which Eiji simply smiled.

“It affects the team and it’s not just info, that means they are gonna learn about it anyway. They are coming. Besides, I don’t feel like going all the way there and coming back here. This’ll be the end of the team training today,” Eiji explained, shrugging at the end. “Ah,” He paused, creating a clone that moved to the notes he’d been working on with Jirobo. “We’ll continue at your place, yeah, Jirobo?”

“Works for me,” The big guy agreed easily.

“Satou-san-” The Anbu started, before stopping as the boy turned to stare at him.

“I said they are coming,” Eiji stated plainly, almost blandly, and continued looking at the masked ninja. Kabuto almost pitied the Anbu. The man or woman probably already knew they wouldn’t win the argument, but caving would go against their orders. “Let’s go,” Their leader said then, vanishing in a puff of smoke.

The three of them didn’t even hesitate, Flickering right after him. Kabuto doubted anyone could tell Eiji not to do something. And the guy cared for the team, which meant that they were basically as untouchable as their leader himself was.

Stopping outside the tower, they started walking behind Eiji as he moved inside. Some of the ninja guarding the place looked at them, but nobody moved or even looked like they thought about stopping them. Evidently, they knew better.

“Ah, Eiji, thanks for coming so quickly. I see you brought your team along too,” The Hokage greeted them, not seeming the least bit surprised by the addition of the rest of them.

“What is it this time, Hiruzen?” Eiji asked, walking to the chair that was in front of the desk like he didn’t have a care in the world. Sure of their standing, they might have been, but the team could at least afford some respect for the Hokage. “We are kind of busy training and all that, you know?”

“I do, but I have news, good and bad, depending on how you look at them,” The village leader said, looking as “eager” for this conversation as Eiji himself did. “The situation isn’t improving, if anything it looks like it’ll get worse soon. You’ll have to leave for Iwa soon.”

“I’m not seeing the good side here, Hiruzen, and believe me, I’m trying,” Eiji replied, looking supremely unimpressed. “Nor why this couldn’t be done with a notice to the training grounds.”

“The good news, I think, is that there’s a new addition to the team, if you’ll have them,” The Hokage informed them. Although, Kabuto didn’t miss the fact that he’d left the actual decision to Eiji instead of just giving an order. “As for who they are, which I’m sure you are curious about, well…” He trailed off before nodding. A second later, the door to the office opened again and in walked their new teammate.

“You actually asked to join, huh?” Tayuya asked, sounding amused.

“Welcome,” Jirobo said, having Kabuto nod along with the greeting.

“Well,” Eiji started, barking out a laugh. “I hope you know what you’ve signed up for.”

“The Suicide Squad, I believe you called it?” Fu replied, grinning shyly at them.

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How’s it going?

Look, I’m trying ok?

I honestly don’t know what I’m doing here with Eiji and Tayuya. Between them doing stuff and my own inexperience writing romance… Well, I’m obviously more nervous than normal regarding this. Any advice you guys could give me, or (in the unlikely case) any reassurances that I’m doing well would be appreciated.

And we got some downtime stuff too, which was a little more my thing, thank God.

And Fu joined, so there’s that.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: I’ve always alluded to Eiji being more his physical age than he should be or thinks he is. I called attention to that more directly in this chapter though. Had you picked up on that?

See you.