DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own Naruto or any other anime or anime characters I write about. Of course, I own my OC's. But other than that, I'm own-less.
Deserted Rose
Part I: The Shadow That Was Somehow There
"See you tomorrow, Temari-sensei!" Shouta ran out the door, last one out like always. Temari, daughter of the former Kazekage and sister to Suna's current Kazekage, Sabaku no Gaara, turned to wave with as much of a smile as she could muster for her favorite little academy student. Shouta was so troublesome. He constantly fell asleep in class. Suna was different than Konoha though, much stricter. The poor little tyke ran about 8 laps a day around the court yard for his laziness, but he liked running better than class, so he didn't mind. She turned back to the chalkboard. She was rather proud of her illustrations. It was one of those talents no one but her students really knew she had. And they didn't care that much. But Temari was proud. With that last thought, Temari grabbed her fan and after making sure no one was looking, spread it out, spread charka through her fiber with jounin precision, and hopped on.
That was another thing no one knew about. Temari loved flying. Just about as much as Shouta loved running. But that's the way she liked it. With no one knowing.
Without a second glance at the paperwork she knew would soon be scattered all over the floor, she burst out of the classroom in a flurry of paperwork, amazed that her fan even fit through the door, and whisked away before anyone could catch sight of her. Besides, the day was only just starting to cool off; people wouldn't be up and out yet to notice anything above window level.
She flew to the eastern edge of the Hidden Village of Sand to her favorite spot in the shadow of Watchtower Five. It was cooler in the shade at least. It was her favorite spot for several reasons. First off, she could be alerted right away if something was awry, since all the guard towers were connected by radio to the Kazekage's headquarters for emergency purposes. More importantly, her mother used to take her and Kankuro there on picnics when they were little, before her… accident. No, it would be more properly addressed as "misfortune." So she came to the watchtower to talk to her mother, instead of to the depressing graveyard on the other end of the Suna Village. And, unlike the entirety of her precious desert home, it wasn't lonely. She felt closer to her late mother and her now distant brother Kankuro there. But lately, she had thought less of her mother and more of her lazy Konoha opponent from the Chuunin Exams. She looked to the east, towards the rest of the world, and wondered which clouds he was watching.
Temari shook her head. She thought too hard sometimes.