Chapter 11 - The Substitute (Part 2)

Note: Hisako belongs to YunieXTidus.

Hisako sat up against the bamboo wall of the hot spring, glad to be soaking in such a nice place. It sure beat going home. And as much as she loved her meadow, it could get cold at night. This bath was just the thing to warm her up. At least, in body.
Her heart was rapidly freezing.

There had been an odd sort of ‘finality’ to anything Tenzo had said or done during their date tonight. He seemed at odds with himself; even distracted. Normally, his focus was impossible to break. Hisako took it more than a little personally that her man was distracted while being out with her. She reflected on the date and decided that she hadn’t handled things in the best way.
-

“Yamato, snap out of it!” Hisako demanded, her fist thundering on the table. His attempts to remind her to use her indoor voice only served to irritate her more, and she was two seconds away from wringing his neck before she remembered she was in love with him.

“You wanna tell me what the hell is so fascinating? Because your attention doesn’t seem to be on me tonight!” she snarled, glaring at anyone who had dared to turn her way during her little outburst. One rather busty brunette stared a little too long, and Hisako was starting to wonder if that, maybe, was Tenzo’s cup of tea.

Yamato framed her shoulders with his hands, but it was not the placating gesture that Hisako originally thought. He held her still to look deep into her eyes, as if into her soul.
“I just…want to remember all of you perfectly. That’s all.”


What did he mean by that? Hisako wondered for the millionth time. She leaned back and sunk lower into the hot water, until only her head and neck remained above it. Her washcloth was precariously placed on her forehead as she relaxed.

Is it another girl? Yamato is the cream of the crop…and I’m the roots people throw away. No one took a second look at me until he came along. It was always Sakura getting the attention. That rotten Uchiha elitist; that cute oddball Lee; that mystery Yu; er; Kojiro.

She heard the sound of splashing water in the men’s side of the hot spring, on the other side of the wall she was sitting near. When she heard two familiar male voices, she pressed her ear to the wall to listen.
--
--

Tenzo and Kojiro were both normally solo bathers. Neither one was particularly keen to show off to other men, no matter what a few yaoi fangirls clamored for. But meeting to discuss business was fine.

Now, Kojiro was an insecure guy to begin with, and he was certainly no fan of male genetalia, save for his own, naturally. He needed look no lower than Tenzo’s upper body to feel inadequate. The size difference between them was sort of startling, as they seemed to have the same build underneath their uniforms. But to Kojiro, his wiry body was insignificant compared to Tenzo’s broad shoulders. Normally, it wouldn’t have bothered him at all. He liked girls, despite his apparent ability to alienate any potential mate in an instant with a stupid slip of the tongue, or his idiotic decision to not talk to his crush of five years until it was too late. But he couldn’t help but think, on the off chance things worked out between him and Hisako, that he would be found woefully inadequate. He already felt as though he was a substitute for Tenzo while he sorted things out. He wasn’t really sure what he was supposed to do. There was no way Tenzo was going to just let go of this girl, no matter what his intentions.

“So, please explain more of this to me,” Kojiro requested formally, speaking to Yamato as his kouhai. “I’m not sure I understand my role.”

Yamato settled into the water, sinking in up to his shoulders, exhaling over the span of a few seconds to truly relax.
“Fall in love with her, or pretend you love her,” he finally answered with a strained patience. Kojiro had asked this question several times now, and Yamato knew that it was to force him to reconsider his position. In other words, Kojiro thought this was underhanded, and disapproved, but wasn’t about to tell his superior that. Well, Yamato wasn’t about to back down, either.
“I don’t want to place certain cards, Yuji. But I know things that-”

Kojiro stood up abruptly, startling the other bathers.
“You listen to me! Do you know how lucky you are? That sweet, loyal girl thinks the world of you. I did, too. Now I’m wondering what in the hell she ever saw in you! You must have seven faces if you can show her one Yamato, then show me a different one!”

THAT was a nasty insult, and Kojiro knew it. But he didn’t stop there. His finger swung in an accusatory arc, and his voice became louder and more commanding.
“If you love her, make it work! If you’re thinking about protecting her, that’s stupid! If ANYONE is mature enough to handle that sort of thing, it’s her! I agreed to help you, but the more I think about it, the more I think that you disgust me! To have such a loyal girl…”

Kojiro had shattered the silence of the peaceful bath, and he still wasn’t done.
“When I heard about how Sasuke left the village, and what Sakura did to stop him, I damn near cried. For her, and even for me. Because if I was the one with such a nice girl, I would damn sure never let her go! So it pisses me off that clowns like you blow off their girls because it’s convenient! They are not disposable objects, and neither are feelings!”
--
--

Hisako heard Kojiro’s speech. All of it. It bothered her that he was badmouthing Tenzo so much, but at the same time, apparently, he’d been given good reason to do so. She had never heard him talk to anyone that way, superior or junior. Something had clearly set him off, and she was betting that it had something to do with the way Tenzo was acting on their date tonight. She staved off her murderous impulses and sat down, ears trained toward the sound of Kojiro and Tenzo’s fight.
--
--

Tenzo now stood up, feeling himself sufficiently slighted to elicit a response. And that response was almost a punch to Kojiro’s face. Except for the fact that Kojiro was right. His reasoning was correct, but he didn’t know the feeling. He’d never pursued someone so far his junior. Granted, Sakura at seventeen would have posed problems for him, but he’d made no move toward her. So he couldn’t understand.

“Look, you agreed to help me out. If you don’t want her to suffer, then man up and deal with this!” Tenzo snarled back. “It’s impossible for it to work between us. It’s not fair to her or to me! When the shoot hits the fan, her and I will both be suffering. And you can thank your own greedy self for that!”

Kojiro and Yamato were chest to chest now, making their physical differences all that more apparent.

“YOU man up, senpai! I said I would do this, and I will. But you’d damn well better figure out a way to make it work. Because it’s not me she’s in love with, and I won’t change that! If you want me to play ‘house’, fine.”
He jabbed a finger in Yamato’s face.
“But you’d damn well better get your act together!”

Then the wall exploded.
--

Hisako lost her temper. Before she knew it, she had demolished the wall separated the men and women, causing both genders to flee. Before her stood a picture of masculine beauty that she was too angry to appreciate.

Kojiro and Yamato, baring nothing, were standing chest to chest, paused in the middle of a heated argument. The looks on their faces alone were worth the property damage. Tenzo didn’t so much mind being seen naked, but Kojiro all but dove into the water to avoid giving Hisako any more of a view than he’d already had. But she’d gotten the full view. He was at a ¾ angle to her, meaning she saw his entire behind and gotten a good glimpse of his genitals. Tenzo was fully facing her, and the very site of him wet and naked would have caught her breath at a different time.

Right now, she was heedless of her own nudity. Her attitude was that nudity really wasn’t a big deal, depending on who saw you. There was no reason to be embarrassed in front of other girls, for example. And if someone saw you naked, well, life went on.

The boys reacted in different ways. Kojiro had assumed a formal kneeling position under water, either out of respect or because he was mostly covered that way. He faced away from her. Tenzo stared straight at her, the red hue on his face indicating that he was very interested. The reaction below his waist certainly confirmed that.

“I do not appreciate being treated this way, Tenzo,” she said quietly. Tenzo winced- it would have been better if she’d yelled. He could tell that she was building up to something else.

“If there is a problem, I expect you to tell me, so we can face it together! Damn it!” She kicked at the water angrily. The manager of the hot spring had come out to yell, but one glance from Hisako sent him scampering. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

“And YOU!” she started toward Kojiro, grabbing one his shoulders to spin him around. He’d never been so close to a naked female before, and was tempted to both stare and run for it at the same time.
“Stand up and face me like a man!”

He reacted to her voice without thinking, again displaying himself fully. He wanted to cover up, but he wasn’t sure if Hisako would allow it.
He shivered, but not from the cold.

Hisako surveyed them both, and found that two men in a hot spring was a hot concept. Especially when you threw in the teacher/student thing that had been so hot when she was involved in it. A brief fantasy about the two stunned, naked men in front of her nearly distracted Hisako from her mission of ripping these two apart.

“Come here!” she ordered. They both did, heads bowed in concern. Her hand flashed out and grabbed each of their genitals. She began to squeeze the, um, more vulnerable part of that area.
“Now, both of you, fill me in on what’s going on!”

Apparently, Kojiro wasn’t so willing to sell Tenzo out. His anger had stemmed from really not wanting to mess up what was, in his eyes, a perfect couple. A quick twist by Hisako caused an unmasculine gasp of breath to come flying out of his mouth.

“You try a replacement jutsu, and these-”
She glanced down.
“-stay here. Clear?”

“Crystal!” Kojiro half-yelped.

“Good. Now, Tenzo, we are going to work things out. If you need time, fine. I will spend my time with Kojiro here. You just better pray I don’t fall in love with him instead. Now, get your act together, or I’ll crush your heart as well as your testicles. Get me?!”

“Yes!”

“Good!” Hisako stated enthusiastically, releasing her grip on the two men, who immediately hit the ground on all fours, panting from the pain that she had inflicted. Hisako bent down, grabbed Kojiro’s arm, and dragged him toward the now-deserted woman’s side of the bath.
--
--

Kojiro had managed to grab his towel, but apparently that wasn’t going to be in Hisako’s plans.

“I heard what you said, and I think it’s sweet,” she told him right away. “I get where Tenzo’s coming from, but I had to make it seem like I really disapproved. Which I do, I suppose.”

Kojiro bowed. “I’m glad you understand. I really wanted no part of this deception. I said ‘yes‘ originally, but I intended to only make sure that things worked out between you two. Now that I don‘t find you attractive,” he added hastily.

“Yeah, yeah,” she murmured, “You just find Sakura MORE attractive.”

Kojiro shook his head, smiling a little. “No. I saw her first. I’ve been carrying a torch for her for too long to just let go. If I’d seen you first, it would be a different story.”

Hisako found herself honestly flattered and surprised by that .Kojiro did not lie, simply put. Not outside of missions. She barely heard him continue. He said something about how she was most certainly beautiful, and how he was such a downgrade from Tenzo, but to please be understanding if she were to allow this to continue while Tenzo worked things out.

“I’m not Tenzo; certainly not physically. And you two are a great couple. You belong together.”

Hisako gave a broad grin and faced him. “…You’re hard to stay angry with, you know. And- oh, grow up!”

Kojiro was back in his formal posture, facing away again.
“Sorry, sorry, but in the presence of a lady…”

Hisako rolled her eyes. “Geez, you’re so uptight. You’ve already seen me naked! And I’ve already seen you naked, for that matter.”

“Yes, well, there is…it’s kind of…”

Hisako put a washcloth on Kojiro’s back, making him jump. She began to wash his back.
“Look, I’m going to punish Tenzo. You’re going to have to put up with me for one date. Then I’ll forgive him. But he needs to be punished. So, make sure you tell him I washed your back, and you washed mine.”

“Eh? But I haven’t washed your-”

“You’re going to.”
--
--

Truthfully, Kojiro had a good time with Hisako. Even though he knew that it wasn’t going to go anywhere…no, rather, because of that, he relaxed and actually acted like himself. Hisako found that charming, and decided that if she’d maybe seen this side of Yuji before Tenzo, she might very well have found her interests change. It’s true that Kojiro was inferior to Tenzo in almost every way. But what he’d said in the hot spring had really resonated with her.

As their dinner was gone, and their conversation wound down, Hisako felt it was time to be honest with Kojiro.

“You know, you’re a good guy. If I didn’t have Tenzo, you, me, and Sakura could have had a really good time…”

“…It’s not nice to tease.”

“Yeah, but it’s fun.”

Kojiro leaned one elbow on the table, a rather odd grin spreading across his face. “How Tenzo could resist you when you smile is beyond me.”

Hisako crossed her arms, mockingly indignant. “He can’t.”

“Heh. So the weakness is a male thing, then,” he decided. “Rather, you seem to inspire trust when you smile. At least from where I sit. Maybe that’s why I feel I can tell you…”

Hisako leaned forward, all ears.

“I’m a virgin.”

“…Duh. If THAT’S your biggest secret, you should be a politician. Definitely no skeletons in your closet.”

“That hurt,” Kojiro murmured, wincing. “But it’s a fair assessment. Actually, the real thing I wanted to tell you was what I had planned to tell Tenzo.
Because of my health, I need to go to a temple that a friend of mine lives at. If I don’t lose my stress, I’m going to die. And sooner rather than later.
…
I’d meant to tell Yamato, but I just couldn’t. His problem seemed more pressing.”

How is a relationship more pressing than life or death? I knew Kojiro always took on the burdens of his friends, but this is too much…

“So I don’t want to leave worried. So how ‘bout patching things up with Tenzo, so I can go with a clear conscience?”

Hisako nodded numbly, thinking about all that Kojiro had said and done recently. Maybe that was why she leaned across the table and kissed him on the cheek.
“I will. So go heal up. And try to get some Shrine Maiden tail while you’re at it. Sex is healthy. I think there’s actually therapy involving it.”

“There is,” Kojiro answered instantly. Then he knew he’d messed up.

“How’d you know that off the top of your head?”

“Fantasy, simply put. She IS a doctor, after all…” Kojiro admitted, blushing. “Sakura, I mean.”

Hisako again felt a slight inferiority toward Sakura. Kojiro must have known, because he said:

“Can I fantasize about you in the hot spring?”

He narrowly dodged the pot of tea a laughing Hisako chucked at his head.

Thanks, Kojiro. I needed that. Now to go get Tenzo woken up. Seeing me naked probably has kept him ‘busy’ all night. Maybe he’s got time for the real thing.

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