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THE GROUP of ninjas had made it to Tazuna's abode. On Yuri's demand, Yaragi and Doremi took over Sasuke and Naruto's duty of carrying Kakashi as the two leaf boys grew achy from hours of hauling the older man.

Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami, gave them a room to rest in though she could only offer the group of 8 four beds. As the only conscious captain, Yuri allocated the pairs once night fell in the Land of Waves.

Sakura begged to sleep with Sasuke but Yuri immediately denied her. Naruto smugly grinned at it, however, his smile died down when Yuri paired Sakura with Sezaki. Yuri found that the two girls talked endlessly throughout the journey which was surprising to the sensei as the latter was a quiet being.

Naruto was with Sasuke. Both were displeased with the idea. Yaragi and Doremi were together as the two got along and were the last to be paired.

"What about you, Yuri-Sensei?" Sezaki asked with a tilted head.

Yuri furrowed her brow, looking behind her to see the sleeping Kakashi taking the last bed. She grimaced in annoyance, forgetting that there was one last bed and he had taken it. "I'll be fine." She grumbled.

"You can take it." Kakashi's low voice rumbled from behind her as he rested on his elbows in the bed.

Yuri scoffed. Of course, he wanted his team to see him as a saviour and her as selfish. "No, I insist." The two began to bicker over the bed.

"No, Yuri, I insist."

"You're hurt. You need it." She narrowed her eyes.

Kakashi met her harsh gaze. "That wouldn't be very gentlemanly of me."

Yuri huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and twisting her head away from him. "As if you care about being a gentleman."

"Just share?" Yaragi butted in from across the room.

The two adults shot the genin a glare. "Absolutely not." "I'd rather die." The two jōnin complained in unison, glaring at each other as they heard what the other said.

The room fell into an awkward silence as they scowled at each other. "Am I not desirable enough for even you to share a bed with?" Yuri asked with an expecting stare. The six genin's face flushed red at the implications of Yuri's words, uncomfortable at the conversation.

"You're the one who said you'd rather die." Kakashi spat, though his cheeks grew red under his mask from her words.

"You want me to look like the bad guy in front of my own team!" She accused, jabbing a finger to his chest.

Kakashi groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "So are you."

"Shut up!" Naruto's voice cut them off as they continued to argue. "Just grow up and share a bed!" A kunai shot out into the air and pierced into Naruto's jacket, pinning him to the wall. He gulped as his eyes travelled to Doremi's darkened gaze.

"Don't tell our Sensei what to do, brat." She approached him and ripped the kunai from his jacket, freeing him.

"Doremi, enough," Yuri demanded, confidently. She deeply breathed out her nose as she closed her eyes. She opened her bag, pulling out her change of clothes from it. She gathered the girls and escorted them outside to the bathroom as they also gathered their pyjamas.

They quickly changed into their own jinbei in the bathroom as the boys got into their own. Yuri knocked on the bedroom door, waiting for Kakashi to clarify that they were all decent.

Yuri sat on the side of Kakashi's bed, her back straight and faced away from him, legs crossed and her eyes fixated on the floor. Kakashi remained in his bed, his gaze focused on the ceiling, an orange paperback book resting on his chest. They both kept their distance, but the tension in the room was impossible to ignore.

Sakura and Sezaki had engaged in a hushed conversation, whispering and giggling, oblivious to the awkward dynamic between their two sensei. Naruto and Sasuke lay in their respective beds, each silently brooding over their assigned sleeping arrangements.

Yaragi and Doremi, ever the pragmatic duo, whispered to each other from their shared bed, dissecting the peculiar standoff between Yuri and Kakashi. Yaragi leaned closer to Doremi, his voice a barely audible murmur. "Do you think they really hate each other?"

Doremi shrugged, her attention still divided between the conversation with her fellow genin and the brewing drama between the two sensei. "They definitely don't seem to get along."

Yuri and Kakashi tried to immerse themselves in their respective distractions, each hoping to tune out the other's presence. However, the shared room, though spacious, seemed to shrink as the night wore on.

After a while, Yaragi cleared his throat, breaking the silence that had enveloped the room. "Uhm, are you guys sure you don't want to share the bed? It's big enough and the floor is cold."

Yuri shot a glare in Yaragi's direction, while Kakashi merely sighed, his patience waning. "I'm fine if she is," Kakashi stated flatly.

Yuri added, "I'm quite comfortable here."

The tension persisted, and the room felt more claustrophobic with every passing moment. It was apparent that neither Yuri nor Kakashi was willing to budge. Their stubbornness, despite the inconvenience, was a testament to their enduring rivalry and pride.

Yuri eventually lay on the floor between Sezaki and Sakura's bed and Kakashi's.

"You're not going to kill me in my sleep, are you?" Kakashi asked, trying to ease the atmosphere.

"Don't tempt me." Yuri spat, taking a quick glance at the man beside her. Her eyes landed on the orange book on his chest and she grimaced in disgust. She shot up from the bed, causing the genin to look up in shock.

"You're really reading Icha Icha?! There are women and children here!" She exclaimed in repulsion.

"Kakashi-Sensei!" Naruto and Sakura shouted out, sickened.

The grey-haired jōnin flushed red under his mask once more, his forehead protector off revealing his closed scarred left eye. He was deeply embarrassed at the situation. "It's only a book."