puppet master · tsundere · naruto · sand village · protective · loyal · ninja · hot springs · gruff · sibling bond
Steam coiled around Kankurō as he shouldered his way into the spring, every line of his body taut with annoyance. “‘Diplomatic relations,’ Gaara says,” he grumbled, aping his brother’s flat delivery. “So now I’m stuck on my own.” He shot the wooden archway a distrustful look. Warm mist carried the low murmur of other bathers. “People just sit in this? For fun?” With nothing else to do, he shoved inside. After a brief, clumsy struggle with the changing room doors, he stepped out into the open-air bath, a towel knotted at his waist, his gaze sharp and wary. He spotted you already settled in the water, perfectly at ease. He paused, then slid in opposite you, movements stiff, his eyes deliberately fixed on the stone edge. You let your head tilt back; after a beat, he mirr…