Once Kurenai had fallen into a deep sleep, Teizawa slipped out of her tent.
His footsteps were as light as a hunting cat's.
He drew a deep breath. The night wind carried dust and the lingering scent of smoke into his lungs, but it did nothing to extinguish the fire burning ever hotter in his chest.
He had spent the past several days fighting, scheming, and constantly moving. There were plenty of beautiful women around him, yet he had never truly been able to relax.
Kurenai was pregnant, so he could not touch her.
What little relief she had offered had taken the edge off his hunger, but it had done nothing to satisfy it.
He licked his lips and wiped nonexistent sweat from his forehead, his gaze searching the darkness for his next target.
He had already memorized the layout of Konoha's camp. The female shinobi had been assigned to several tents. Kurenai had one to herself, while Tenten and Ino shared another.
Truthfully, he had been missing Ino lately.
The girl was utterly devoted to him, obedient and attentive. She never refused him anything.
When they had last parted, she had been reluctant to let him go. Her eyes had been red, and she had looked like a puppy abandoned by its owner.
Ino it was.
Teizawa crouched low and used the darkness for cover as he approached his destination.
He slipped deeper into the camp without making a sound. A sentry passed nearby, but Teizawa did not even look up. He moved through the shadows like a snake burrowing through the earth, silent and nearly impossible to track.
Before long, he found the tent.
It was a standard Konoha tent made from gray-green canvas. A pair of shinobi sandals sat outside. They were clearly a woman's, and a relatively small size.
The corner of Teizawa's mouth lifted.
He made no sound as he carefully raised the flap and slipped inside.
No lamp had been lit. The tent was so dark that he could barely see his own hand.
The heavy canvas blocked the moonlight, leaving only a faint sliver shining through the gap in the flap. It drew a dim silver line across the ground.
Teizawa narrowed his eyes and gave himself several seconds to adjust to the darkness.
Soon, he could make out the interior.
Two field beds stood side by side. One was empty, its blanket neatly folded and a kunai hidden beneath its pillow.
Someone slept on the other bed, lying on her side beneath a tightly wrapped blanket. Only the top of her head was visible.
Teizawa paused.
Black hair?
Ino's hair was blond. Why did it look black?
He quickly dismissed the thought. The tent was nearly pitch-black, so he had probably mistaken the color.
He did not think any further.
Desire drowned out what little caution remained.
He moved closer and sat on the edge of the bed, then lifted one corner of the blanket.
The person beneath it stirred and murmured something unintelligible in her sleep.
Teizawa did not stop. He reached beneath the blanket and wrapped his arms around her warm body from behind.
She immediately went rigid, her body tightening like a fully drawn bow.
Teizawa's hand wandered across her waist as he pressed his lips near her ear.
"Did you miss me?"
The person in his arms began struggling violently.
She drove an elbow backward and tried to knee him away, thrashing like a fish pulled onto dry land. She was much stronger than Ino and fought without restraint, kicking and striking as though her life depended on it.
Teizawa grew irritated.
Was Ino angry because he had ignored her these past few days?
Women sometimes needed to be coaxed when they were upset, but he had neither the desire nor the patience to soothe her.
He convinced himself that her resistance was an act, that her muffled cries came from embarrassment, and that her desperate struggles meant something they did not.
Then he crossed a line that could never be taken back.
The tent fell silent.
The person in his arms stopped struggling. She no longer kicked or made a sound.
Her entire body trembled, whether from rage, pain, or terror, Teizawa could not tell.
He did not try to understand.
By the time his clouded mind finally cleared, the harm had already been done.
Teizawa exhaled slowly, the tension draining from his body. He released her and lay down beside her, still unaware of the enormity of what had happened.
"Ino..." His voice was hoarse in the darkness. "Why were you so disobedient tonight?"
There was no answer.
Teizawa paused and turned his head, intending to look at the person beside him.
At some point, a thin strand of moonlight had slipped through the gap in the tent flap.
It fell directly across her face.
Teizawa's pupils contracted sharply.
Her hair was not blond.
It was pure black.
Nor was that Ino's bright, beautiful face.
It belonged to someone else.
Her features were delicate and unadorned. They were not breathtaking at first glance, but possessed a quiet beauty that grew the longer one looked.
Tears streaked her pale cheeks.
Tenten?
Teizawa's entire body froze.
His mind went blank.
It felt as though lightning had struck the top of his head, leaving him numb all the way down to his feet.
His mouth opened, but no words came out. Something seemed lodged in his throat, leaving him capable of producing only meaningless sounds.
He had mistaken her for someone else.
But even that realization could not excuse what he had ignored or undo what he had done.
Tenten opened her eyes.
There was no anger or hatred in those dark pupils, only a bewildered emptiness too profound to describe.
She stared at Teizawa. Her lips moved, and when her voice finally emerged, it sounded dry and raw.
"Kazekage-sama... Why... Why did you...?"
She could not finish.
Fresh tears silently rolled down her face and darkened the pillow beneath her.
Teizawa inhaled deeply and forced himself to remain calm.
He wanted to explain.
He wanted to tell her it had been a mistake, that he had thought she was Ino.
He wanted to apologize.
But as he looked at Tenten's tear-stained face and those hollow eyes, he suddenly understood that every explanation would sound empty and every apology hopelessly inadequate.
"I'm sorry."
His voice was barely audible.
Tenten said nothing. She buried her face in the pillow, her shoulders trembling softly.
Teizawa reached out, intending to pat her back.
His hand stopped in midair.
A moment later, he withdrew it.
Outside the tent, the footsteps of sentries changing shifts drew closer before gradually fading into the distance.
Someone coughed far away. A few people exchanged quiet words, then the camp became silent again.
No one knew what had happened inside this tent.
No one knew that the mighty Kazekage was sitting beside a young woman's bed, utterly at a loss.
Teizawa rose without a word.
He looked at Tenten and nearly spoke, but swallowed the words once more.
Then he lifted the tent flap and stepped outside.
The night wind felt cold against his face, yet his entire body burned.
Standing outside the tent, he raised his head and stared at the starless sky.
He slowly released a long breath.
Damn it.
He cursed inwardly, though he could no longer tell who the curse was directed at.
He began walking toward Sunagakure's camp.
His steps were no longer light. Each one felt as heavy as lead.
After walking only a short distance, he suddenly stopped without turning around.
"Tenten..."
His voice was so quiet that the slightest breeze could have carried it away.
There was no answer from inside the tent.
"I'll take responsibility," he said after a pause. "If you need anything, come find me."
Without waiting for a response, he quickened his pace and disappeared into the night.
Inside the tent, Tenten raised her head from the pillow and stared at the flap, which was still swaying gently.
The tears on her face had not yet dried.
The light in her eyes was as faint as a candle on the verge of going out.
She looked down at the bruises on her body, and tears welled in her eyes once more.
Curling herself into a tight ball, she buried her face against her knees and wept without making a sound.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]