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Kankuro’s eyebrows were furrowed as he peered around the hallway corner, and nervous sweat beaded on his temple before rolling down the side of his face. He tugged at the neck of his hooded shirt, the stifling desert heat wafting inside the building suddenly unbearable. His throat bobbed as he swallowed thickly, but the lump lodged there simply didn’t go away. He watched with a mixture of anxiety and appreciation while Gaara conversed amicably with the soon-to-be Tsuchikage, Kurotsuchi.
To say that Kankuro had a crush on the girl was... an understatement, really. In the days of meetings and diplomacy following the Great Ninja War, the Kage and their bodyguards were shuffled from one village to the next ironing out peace plans and tying up loose ends. So, needless to say, he’d gotten to know the Kages’ right-hand personnel quite well, Kurotsuchi included. He was impressed with her confidence and charmed by her audacious personality, and as a result, he was nursing quite a simpering affection for the young woman.
He had really been quite content to just not do anything about it because, well, he did have a reputation to uphold. He really didn’t want to be known as a sap head-over-heels for a girl. Unfortunately, his elder sister had eyes sharper than a hawk. She’d cornered him after one meeting and basically told him to get his ass in gear, or she’d do the confessing for him. Kankuro had no doubt that she would, and he doubted that would win him any points with Kurotsuchi-- so here he was, fawning over her in the shadows and trying to muster up his courage to say more than ten words to her.
This is such a pain in the ass, he thought with a small scowl. It wasn’t like he didn’t want Kurotsuchi to know he liked her, it was just... He knew next to nothing about girls! His sister was as brash and unfeminine as they came, and Gaara probably knew even less about women than he did! Honestly, Kankuro knew that words really didn’t do him justice, so, he went with what he knew best... He made Kurotsuchi a little puppet because girls liked cute things, right?
“Thank you, Kazekage. I’ll be seeing you again soon,” came her pleasant voice, making Kankuro straighten like a rod. He could hear her shoes clicking down the hall as she approached. What should he do? She wouldn’t appreciate him watching her around the corner, that was creepy! But he didn’t want to scare her by jumping out. While his mind panicked, his body made the decision for him, rounding the corner while she was still in the middle of the hall.
“Oh. Hello, Kankuro,” she said when he appeared, eyes widening in surprise. Kankuro offered her a shy smile, hiding his token of affection behind his back while trying to seem nonchalant. He was glad he used waterproof face paint, else he would have sweated it all off already. “I just finished up with Lord Gaara, if you’re on your way to see him.”
“Ahehe, actually, it was you I wanted to see,” he said, using one hand to scratch at the side of his face. Kurotsuchi’s eyes only got wider, totally perplexed by his behavior. It send the anxiety swirling within him skyrocketing; his face slowly began to heat up, and he got fidgety. “I, um... I’ve been meaning... Oh, just, here-- take this!” he cried, thrusting the little puppet out to her. Kurotsuchi gasped as he all but threw it in her hands before he turned around so she wouldn’t see him blushing.
“Is this... for me...?” After he nodded without turning around, he could hear her messing with the little joints and the strings. Did she like it? Did she think he was weird? Unable to help himself, he peered over his shoulder to see her... smiling.
“It’s cute,” she chuckled softly while slowly playing with one of the arms. “Thank you.” Her gratitude bolstered his confidence a little, allowing him to smile back. “Is this your way of asking me out, by the way?” she then added with a cheeky sneer, and that momentary wisp of confidence vanished like smoke.
“Um... Yeah, kinda?” he managed, face turning fiery again. She chuckled again, then held the puppet up to her chest.
“All right, then. You can pick me up at my hotel at seven,” she declared, and next thing he knew, she was rounding the corner. Kankuro just sat there while his brain short-circuited, trying to process what happened. Eventually he did, and he smiled at his success.
He knew next to nothing about girls, but... apparently he knew enough.