Temari
A/N: Well well well, who knew I still existed? This is the first story I've written in a long time. I've been rather absent in the fanfiction world. And I do plan on finishing 'Getting To Know You' at some point for anybody who was wondering. Sorry for the delay but anyway, this could be my return or just a short visit. I shall be back though.
This feels a little different to what I've previously written but maybe it's just been a while. I would really appreciate some feedback for this especially.
Thanks for reading this far, I hope you continue to reading my actual story haha
- jm
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All characters within this fanfiction belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
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"I have never felt as alone as I do now. True, I may be in a place that isn't home, a place where nobody knows me, by title or otherwise. That's unusual. Everybody knows me, everybody has an opinion about me, everyone has an impression and a pre-conceived idea. Even here where they don't, I could never be like them."
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Cool teal eyes stared over the horizon, watching the sun set over the small village of Konoha. The wind gently rustled the leaves, so clear and devoid of the familiar grains of sand she was so accustomed to. Sighing to herself, the regular light dulled in her brilliant eyes, shining with sorrow and something else, something a little different.
Loneliness.
For years the Suna kunoichi had worked on her own; fighting alongside others she trusted no one but herself. She protected everyone out of duty and compassion; she was her village's heroine. She saved others and never asked another to do the same for her: she didn't believe anyone could save her. If she died, she died in combat. If she died, she died with no one's blood on her hands. When she died, she died without regrets. None of her comrades would suffer because of her, none of them would die for her.
She was strong and independent. And they praised and adored her for it.
But even the mighty fall. And she fell every night.
Every night away from home she'd find a quiet place to sit and breathe, to allow herself a moment's mercy as she comforted herself, calmed her nerves and fought back the fear that ate away at her. Every night she spent at home would be hours of watching over the city from her rooftop then gazing at the stars, making a silent prayer to watch over her beloved village whilst she reluctantly gave in to rest.
Couples and friends adorned the streets of the Leaf: laughing, joking, smiling. Some chose to wander alone, the blonde crushing any hope that the lost soul may be akin to her own. Lifeless eyes drifted to the Hokage's mansion, knowing that she, like herself and her brothers, watched over her beloved village, knowing full well that she was its protector.
But even the Fifth had a friend, a comrade, a confidante.
Trust was never openly spoken about in her home. Anger would rise as she remembered her youngest brother. How alone would he have felt for most of his life? Shunned as a child, a shinobi, a son and a human being. Her pain was nothing compared to his.
A familiar spiky, blonde head caught her attention. The Uzumaki boy. He understood Gaara. He helped her brother, had faith in him. Gaara was no longer alone.
And Kankurou was more than willing to stand by his blood, their brotherly relationship beginning to change for the better after their discontinued alliance with the Sound. A sad smile graced her lips as she remembered her brothers. They were her only family left. And as far as she was concerned, she'd have no other family.
She'd dreamed of love. She'd dreamed of a loving a family, a happy family. She'd dreamed of escaping, dreamed of finding her own happiness.
And she still did at times.
But she knew better than to pursue any of them. She was a shinobi, a tool of war. She dedicated her life to duty and honour. She gave her all to protect her family and her village. That's all she was.
She existed as nothing else.
Her eyes dulled a little more as the tears slid down her face, tracing their familiar route to her chin. She closed them, embracing her own broken heart with calloused hands, clumsily holding it in her own grasp. A cold grasp offered no warmth to the heart that ached for affection, to the heart that was suffocated by her mind and will during the day and times of battle, smothered by logic and duty.
But here she sat in her own silence, clumsily tending to her fragile soul, soft tears easily breaking the barrier wall that protected it from the outside world.
She'd never be like everyone else: she would never allow herself to be.
She trusted no one in battle, hoping that maybe once death would strike and end it all. She watched from a distance as her brothers tried to repair their family; as the eldest child she would always protect them, daughter or not. As a kunoichi she would always protect the civilians. As a daughter of the wind country, she would always fight with pride.
She saw herself as nothing else but broken images. The world saw her as titles: shinobi, kunoichi, daughter, sister, liaison, jounin, protector, princess, heroine.
But nobody would ever see her as broken.
And in the distance a canon went off, not unnoticed by the girl atop the cliffs. Swallowing her sorrow, she gently placed her heart back into the box she kept it in, locking it, then expertly rebuilding the numerous walls she'd laid out to protect it. As the door to her recondite self closed, she wiped the traces from her face, the sorrow-emitted radiance disappearing as the confident and proud spark returned to her eyes.
With a flash she was gone.
Gone to warn the Hokage, gone to help her allies.
In a moment the young girl had disappeared for duty.
And nobody would call back for her.
Nobody but herself would ever call back for that young girl:
"Temari."
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A/N:
Thank you for reading! If you have the time I'd really appreciate some feedback because I'm more than a little rusty.
I don't know if any of this still applies to Temari, she's just clearly my favourite character and I explored an idea using her. So sorry if she doesn't fit!
Cheers,
- jm