AN and Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Please don't sue. I apologized in advance for any grammar mistakes. I went over the thing a million times, but with my eyes, I probably missed a lot.
Big heartfelt thanks Faramae Baggins for checking me on my spelling. Also lots of thanks to jocular monoceros and Van the Key of Lain for being the first to review.
Adolescence is a Wonderful Thing
She noticed it when she was fifteen, from the moment her sandals had touched the grassy field of Konoha. Even as time went on (she got older, became a jounin, and she was now a representative of Suna) the one thing that had always remained constant was her opinion of the leaf village. It had never changed even after all these years.
Konoha was still the most dramatic, most love struck, most hormonally wrought village around.
And it all started with her morning cup of tea.
Early to rise, she headed for the open tea bar she usually went to when she was in Konoha on business. She ordered her usual, content to just sit there on the stool, as her drink was prepared.
The owner, who knew her well enough, gave her a discount which she thankfully accepted. Not too many vendors around here were as polite to a sand nin. Maybe the fact that Konoha and Suna were on the verge of war not long ago still weighed in their thoughts. Whatever the reason was, when a Konoha citizen was generous to her, she felt incline to be generous back. She gave the man a large tip. He opened his mouth to protest, but closed it and nodded his thanks.
Swiveling on her stool so that she sat with the tea bar to her back, Temari watched the other early riser of Konoha village as they went about their business. Shop owners were opening their wares. Early shoppers were hoping to get their chores out of the way. Temari even spotted that chunnin, Umino Iruka, as he ran by. No doubt on his way to the academy.
She noticed when a figure clad in green took the stool next to her.
"Temari-san! What a glorious day, is it not?" Gai's voice was loud and boisterous.
Temari watched as the vendor ducked down to hide. She took a calm sip of her drink as the other jounin waited for her answer. Turning, she inclined her head the slightest bit in greeting.
"Yes, it is a glorious day, Gai-sensei."
The wide smile he gave to her glinted and almost blinded her.
"What brings you to Konoha, Temari-san?" The jounin in green leaned over the counter to the crouching vender. "Ah, Tomo-san! There you are! My usual, if you please."
The vender reluctantly got up to make the drink. Gai then turned his attention back to her.
"Just renewing Suna and Konoha's trading agreement," she said.
"Ah, business then."
"Always business," Temari nodded. She watched as Gai guzzled down the drink that was placed in front of him. He quickly ordered another one. "What are you drinking?"
She stared at the red concoction half in disgusted and half in curiosity.
"Beet Tea with rosemary. Helps the body and mind grow strong," he puffed his chest with pride. "Do you want some?" he offered.
Temari declined.
"Would you like to see something interesting, Temari-san?"
"Interesting?" She quirked an eyebrow.
"Any minute now, you're going to see my student…." Cue the manly tears. "…come walking down the street hand in hand with his beloved!"
Temari was bored.
She had no interest in the love life of Hyuga Neji and that Ten-Ten girl. She told Gai that herself.
"Not my darling students Neji or Ten-Ten. Rock Lee, of course!" The Jounin's eyes began to glisten. "He and his beloved Sakura-chan will come walking down the street any moment now."
"I see," Temari couldn't hold back her snort. She waited for Gai to continue.
"I taught young Lee a new jutsu. One that would surely allow him to express his feelings for his intended," Gai looked eagerly down the streets to see if he could spot his favorite student.
Temari shook her head. Everyone knew that Lee didn't have enough chakra to pull off any jutsu, much less one that could make Haruno Sakura fall in love with him. That was why the boy trained in Taijutsu. Besides, even if the boy had the power, he'd need at least the nine-tail's chakra and a miracle if he wanted anything other than pity from the pink hair girl. She was too stuck up on Uchiha Sasuke to look at anyone else.
Temari decided to humor him. "What kind of a jutsu was it?"
"It bonds those to who they are most attracted to. "
"Bond?" From the corner of her eyes she noticed several figures coming down the street as Gai abruptly broke out in enthusiastic applause.
Sure enough, the green-clad green beast junior of Konoha was walking merrily down the street, hand in hand, with suffering looking Haruno Sakura.
Temari blinked.
Holding Sakura's other hand was Uzumaki Naruto. Holding Naruto's free hand was Hyuga Hinata, blushing beet red. Holding Hinata's other hand was Inuzuka Kiba, who held hands with Aburame Shino, who strangely enough was holding Hyuga Neji's hand, who was holding hands with Ten-Ten, who was holding hands with Akimichi Choji, who was holding Nara Shikamaru's hand, who held hands with Yamanaka Ino, with the blond bringing up the rear.
Together, all eleven shinobis moved in single line, all holding one another's hand, looking as though they wanted to jump off the Hokage monument. (Rock Lee, being the exception of course. He seemed to be in heaven.)
Temari ordered another cup of tea.
When Sakura caught sight of Gai, a look of rage crossed her normally pretty face. She headed in their direction, pulling Lee and Naruto along. The abrupt change in course almost caused the group to stumble, because while Sakura dragged Naruto, Naruto dragged a startled Hinata, who dragged Kiba, who dragged Shino, who was being pulled back by Neji who refused to go near his teacher.
Neji even dug the heels of his sandals into the ground causing the dirt to waft up from all the traction. Of course, he wasn't a match for Sakura's brute strength, and he too was dragged forward, albeit forcefully, and in turn dragged Ten-Ten who (by the way) looked a bit disgusted to be holding hands with Choji. Shikamaru didn't look as if he cared who he was holding hands with and Ino was cursing.
"Take it off!" Sakura gritted her teeth. She went right up to Gai and shoved her hands (meaning she shoved Naruto's and Lee's hands as well) in his face. Ino and Ten-Ten were quick to demand the same thing.
Temari thanked Tomo-san when she got her second cup.
Gai tried to appeased the enraged Kunoichi. The green clad man almost cowered under the glare. Unable to stand seeing a Jounin get beat down by a mere Chunnin, Temari cut in.
"I would have thought that you'd be more flattered," Temari said calmly.
"Why's that?" Sakura demanded to know.
"Lee, whose chakra levels are so low, even a fungi has more ninjutsu abilities," Lee looked embarrassed, but Temari continued, "actually managed to do a working jutsu just for you. It's a huge compliment, you know. " Temari gave the pink hair girl a lazy smirk. She chided the girl with an obvious fake reprimanding tone.
Sakura snarled.
Before a fight could break out, Choji went up to the vendor (dragging Ten-Ten and Shikamaru along who by default dragged Ino as well) and asked if he had any snacks. The vendor shook his head.
"It's just a tea stand," he told the boy.
Choji looked disappointed.
"I think you should take the jutsu off, Gai-sensei," Ten-Ten tried to sound reasonable. "How are we going to do missions if we're stuck together like this?"
Gai looked perplexed. "I never considered that." He gave Lee an apologetic look and quickly formed the seals to release them.
Temari merely watched.
She saw the relieved expression on Sakura's face, the crestfallen look on Lee, and the way Choji was looking at Ten-Ten without trying to let her know that he was looking.
"I think you should leave them," Temari said to Gai. She halted him in the middle of the seals. Call it pity, paying off a debt, or whatever, but she felt that she owed Rock Lee. After Naruto, Lee had a hand in changing Gaara for the better. Besides, it would be worth the look on Shikamaru's face to see how he took to dealing with those 'troublesome' shinobis he went to genin academy with.
"Think of it as training, learning to work together as a team," Temari continued. Just in case he was still deciding, Temari added, "They are in the prime of their youth, Gai-sensei. I'm sure if they worked together, they can get out of any situation. Even this one."
"I see your point, Temari-san," Gai took her hand in excitement. He turned to the group. "I shall adhere to the wise Temari of the Sand's advice. This will be a great exercise in team-work for everyone. Ah, what a wonderful day this is!"
The other eleven shinobis in front of him would disagree. (Rock Lee was the exception, of course.)
Just then, a nondescript ninja appeared and told Gai that he was needed by the Hokage.
"Good bye, my beloved students. I shall see you soon," Gai tearfully embraced Lee. "Good luck with the training!"
With a poof he was gone.
"I'm going to kill you," Kiba snarled. His sentiments were echoed by the group.
"Why not have Lee remove the jutsu?" Temari peered at them in curiosity.
"If he could don't you think we would have done that?" Kiba yelled. Akamaru, who was perched on Kiba's head, barked his agreement. Apparently, the dog had been bonded to Kiba's head.
"He doesn't remember how to take the jutsu off," Choji added.
"That's why we need Gai-sensei!" Sakura slammed her fist on the corner. Naruto began to whine in pain, because the hand Sakura slammed was the hand he was holding. "He's the only one who could take it off! And You! You chased him off!"
"The Hokage called him," Temari reminded her.
"Argh!"
"What's going on here?" A voice asked.
Looking to the side, Temari raised another eyebrow.
There was Iruka-sensei.
Poor, flustered Iruka-sensei, and he was holding hand with a decidingly preening Kakashi-sensei, who was holding Mitarashi Anko's hand, whose other hand was being held by a Genma-something (Temari didn't bother with learning his last name. He was a perv anyway), who was holding hands with Raido (some chunin she vaguely remembered), who was holding hands with Morino Ibiki, who was holding hands with Kamizuki Izumo, whose hand was being held by a widely smiling Hagane Kotetsu, who brought up the rear and seemed to be the only one happy with the situation. (Rock Lee, the exception, of course).
Temari swiveled on her stool.
"Things like this never happens in Suna," she told them. As the group in front of her stared at her, Temari was just content to sit there on her stool, smirking as she sip her tea. She watched as Iruka-sensei flushed bright red. Maybe the fact that Kakashi-sensei was trying to paste something else together other than their hands might have had something to do with it. The white hair jounin was completely oblivious to the jealous stares of Anko, who ignored Genma's attempts to hit on her. Raido looked at his friend longingly missing the stares that Ibiki threw at him, and Izumo was trying to fend off advances from, who he thought was his straight, best friend. She didn't bother looking at the other line of Shinobi.
Temari shook her head. Only in Konoha would there be this many one-sided love affairs. Only in Konoha.