"Yuki, do I really have to carry you like this?" Koji continued to complain, as we moved through the land once more, running across a large swamp.
"Yeah."
"But why?"
"Why are you complaining now? There was no problem when you carried me the past few days." I replied.
"Well, you just had me do like seven hundred push-ups with you sitting on my back." He whined.
"Please, that's hardly enough to stop you, I mean, just look at your hands, they sure don't seem to lack strength."
"That's not the problem." He continued.
"You aren't calling me fat, are you?" I added a sharp edge to my voice.
"No, that's not it either, please, Yuki, this is torture." He groaned.
"This is training, so put your back into it and carry me." I didn't care for his protest.
"Training for what? No one carries people around like this?"
"Woof!" Kuro barked as he ran beside us, with Haruto and Arata almost snickering from behind, the two taking a slight joy in Koji's pain, or at least his discomfort.
Because I wasn't about to cause him real pain, not outside of a spar at least, no, this was just a bit of punishment, and well, it was nice not having to run for once. Just able to nuzzle my face up against his strong, hard chest and breathe in his warm scent.
Inuzuka, I wasn't, but that didn't mean I couldn't like certain scents, and his wasn't bad, like a smoky forest.
Above me, he groaned louder. "Yuki, carrying you like this is torture when you smell so horny." He complained, his hands gripping my ass tighter.
I just grinned in response and nuzzled my face into his chest. "What's wrong? Feeling desperate? About to beg?" I whispered sweetly.
Koji gritted his teeth. He wasn't stupid; he knew what I was doing and why I was doing it.
"How long are you going to be doing this?" He asked through gritted teeth.
"Likely until we are back in Konoha," I said, licking his chest. Which honestly wasn't nice, licking clothes sucked, but I liked his reaction, Koji was fun messing with.
"YUKI!"
The three of us laughed at his torment as we continued to move through the Land of River, enjoying a bit of peace after a hard fight and close call, knowing that we should be totally safe for at least a few days.
Or maybe not totally safe, but at least, no one should be hunting us down currently. Sending just one was already more than enough; no way Suna had sent two different teams. It was far too inefficient.
A village like Sunagakure couldn't possibly afford to be that reckless with their forces, not when they too were fighting on multiple fronts, and already had the village with the least shinobi to spare.
Eventually, we reached another river, which honestly wasn't a surprise; the entire nation was named after them after all. There were countless rivers and streams running through the land, making for plenty of tall forests, deep swamps, and lush marshes.
We normally stayed away from them due to the rivers being the roads of the nation. There were few roads, and everyone here traveled by boat.
Being shinobi on an assassination mission, we mostly stayed clear of them, running around in the woods, and it was mostly the same for Suna shinobi as well. Just as we mostly left the towns to civilians, we also left the rivers to them.
Under my order, we set up a small camp by the riverside. Normally, we only did so by smaller streams, but this time, I wanted something different.
"Hey Yuki?" Koji asked as I studied the map.
"Yeah?" My eyes remained fixed on the numerous marks and tiny lines that marked both rivers and settlements alike.
"Well, it's just…" His voice was strained as he spoke.
"Don't hold back for my sake, partner, I can handle it." I picked my words to achieve the maximum level of teasing.
"Fuck," he cursed.
"I wish I could use one for sure, but well, I guess it's my fault for having a partner that can't deliver." I felt him shake at my words.
"Yuki! I will get you for this!" he promised.
"Stay still, I'm trying to read the map!"
Not far away, Haruto and Arata were chuckling at the sight as they fished and relaxed.
"You are playing with fire there, Yuki, I hope you know that." Haruto grinned and shook his head, muttering about young love.
Once again, I had Koji doing push-ups with me sitting on his back.
"Yuki, why do I have to do this again? My arms are starting to kill me." He complained, his body starting to shake as he struggled to lift the both of us up.
"Because you were complaining so much, you made it sound like I was heavy, and that means fat, and I'm not fat, which means you are just weak, and my partner can't be weak! So I'm helping you train, is all." I couldn't help but giggle at his struggle.
"You're not helping," Koji growled through gritted teeth, sweat now beading on his forehead.
"Of course I am," I said with mock sincerity. "I'm helping your endurance, your chakra control, and your patience. Especially your patience."
"My patience is gone."
"That's why we're working on it," I replied cheerfully.
Kuro barked once, then padded up and flopped down right in front of Koji, tongue lolling out, as if even he was judging the drama. Koji glanced at him, betrayed.
"I liked you more when you didn't take her side," he muttered.
"Maybe you should be more loveable," I said sweetly, drumming my fingers against his back.
Haruto stirred the pot he'd rigged over a small campfire and called out, "You two keep this up, and the enemy won't need to find us. They'll hear you bickering from a mile away."
"I'm not bickering," I said proudly. "I'm motivating."
Koji collapsed onto his stomach with a groan, cheek pressed to the dirt again. "You're a tyrant."
"A cute tyrant."
"The cutest," Arata added dryly from where he lay on his side, still wrapped like a mummy.
Koji turned his face just enough to shoot him a glare. "Don't encourage her."
"It's already too late for that," Arata said. "Besides, watching you suffer is the best entertainment I've had since Kasui tried to slice my lungs out."
"You're all traitors," Koji huffed, flipping onto his back—forcing me to tumble off and land beside him with a light thud.
I propped myself up on one elbow, staring down at him. "Koji, are you calling your commander a traitor?"
He gave me a slow, wicked grin. "Only if she keeps sitting on me like furniture and refusing to follow through."
I blinked. Then smiled back. "Keep talking like that, and I might sit on your face instead."
He choked.
Kuro barked again, as if shocked. Haruto coughed into his hand. Arata groaned, "For the love of—"
"What?" I asked innocently. "He said it, not me."
Koji stared at me, caught somewhere between horrified, flustered, and very interested. "…You are evil."
"When it's cute girls who are evil, it's adorable." I corrected.
He somehow found the strength to lift his tired arms off the ground and reach over, shamelessly cupping my breasts. "You aren't a girl, but cute… debatable, I guess."
I rolled my eyes at him and moved until my face was right over his. "I'm sure I can convince you that I am cute." I whispered before I kissed him tenderly, though the sweet atmosphere I tried to make was somewhat ruined by him squeezing my breasts like a horny teen.
I broke the kiss with a little hum, brushing my nose against his. "Hands off unless you want another punishment set."
He looked up at me, lips parted, flushed and breathless—not from the kiss, but the push-ups—and grinned despite himself. "If the punishment includes more of that, I might just disobey."
I raised an eyebrow. "So bold, Koji. You sure you want to test me?"
"I'm already dying. I may as well die happy."
Kuro snorted again and rolled over with a heavy sigh, clearly done with our antics.
I shook my head and gently flicked Koji's forehead. "Rest. You've earned it. For now."
"Only for now?" he groaned, flopping fully onto the grass with arms stretched wide.
"Don't worry," I said with mock cheer. "I'll think of something new tomorrow. Maybe squats."
He let out a low, defeated moan. "Kuro, help me... please…"
Kuro didn't even lift his head.
Across the camp, Arata sat up a little and gave us a lazy salute. "Honestly, you two are worse than enemy interrogators."
"Yet here you are, listening in," Haruto said, chuckling as he stirred the soup again.
I laid back beside Koji, folding my hands beneath my head and gazing up at the darkening sky, the last threads of sunset fading into a deep violet.
For a long while, none of us said anything. The fire crackled. The river whispered nearby. A breeze moved through the trees.
Peaceful.
Safe.
At least, for now.
Koji shifted beside me, his voice lower. "You really think we'll get some time off once we report back?"
I turned my head just enough to look at him. His eyes were open, staring up at the stars. Thoughtful.
"Yeah, likely a bit, back to Konoha, remind us why we fight, then maybe another mission," I said, "Might even be assigned with you again."
Koji shuddered and groaned; he had clearly forgotten that there was a high likelihood that we might not be sent on missions together. "Fuck… I didn't think about that."
"Well, I doubt we will be assigned long-term missions like this again, so if we get sent to the same front, we should still be able to hang out in base camp between missions and such." I figured that was the most likely outcome.
Koji was quiet for a moment, then nodded, still looking at the sky. "Right. That's fine. As long as we're still close enough to see each other… I can deal with that."
It was a surprisingly honest moment from him. No teasing, no smartass remark. Just truth.
I turned my gaze upward again, letting the silence stretch.
"I mean," he continued after a beat, "I can survive without seeing you every day. I just won't like it."
I smiled. "You're sweet when you're not being a horny idiot."
"Thanks, I think."
"Don't hurt your little head thinking." I reached over and returned the earlier favor by gripping his junk, "not that this head is all that small~"
He shivered under my touch, and life found the head I was gripping. "Damn Yuki, you are asking for it." his tone grew heated, and his voice deep.
"Better asking than begging," I teased, but I pulled my hand away.
"Yuki… you are… fuck, you are amazing." He whined needily and greedily, but was too tired to move.
"That I am," I eagerly agreed to that.
"Just promise me one thing," he said, glancing over at me.
"What?"
"If they split us up… don't go falling for some other teammate."
I snorted. "You worried someone else will carry me around and do seven hundred push-ups under me?"
"Yes!" he said, completely serious. "I worked hard for that privilege."
I laughed softly, then leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Relax, partner. I will ask anyone who wants that privilege to duel you for it."
He finally smiled. "Good."
"And here I was worried you would start fucking right there, but all you did was feed us more sugar than we have packed in our rations." Arata grunted, amused.
"I think Arata just volunteered for nightwatch." Everyone laughed, well everyone but Arata, but even he couldn't stop a small smile from spreading on his face.
It was amazing how everything felt so… light, so alive, after such a brutal battle. Close to death, life seemed more precious than ever. And growth, too, came to us; we grew from it.