Aloft
Ch.1
Disclaimer: I have not and never will own anything that remotely relates to Naruto, thank you very much.
Note: This is non-canon, just because I am soooo lazy. I'm sorry if you were waiting for my ItaHina fic. I got stuck in writer's block and have to rewrite the whole chap. So in the mean time I wrote this cute, whimsical fic I have now fallen in love with. Enjoy.
Chapter 1
Walls were supposed to be white. Or maybe crème, perhaps a light beige, but never sand. Sand was like an ugly, darker beige mixed with a murky yellow. Temari wondered why anyone would paint the color on every wall in Suna as she walked down the halls. She was surrounded.
It wasn't exactly because she was tired of it, the color of sand had become like second nature to her. A comforting sight. Like the color green to the Leaf village perhaps. She remembered a student she saw during her brief stay there. He wore the color in spandex. She didn't know whether to be amazed or horrified at the fact.
A smile came to her face at the thought of Konoha. The blasted village was full of suspicious officials, loudmouth people, and was the center of drama, but she had grown to like it.
But if someone in her village wore sand colored spanx, then she solemnly swore she would go out and go all three moon crazy on him. Hopefully she would have enough strength to blow him out of the Wind Nation with her fan.
She tightened her grip on the paper file in her hand. It was a manila folder, standard in the office. What lay inside the folder was the product of over ten hours of Temari's life. That morning, she woke up early and got to work on it right away. It was now six in the evening.
Stress really took it's toll on Temari. So much was expected of her, and yet she felt as if she did not live up to much of those expectations at all. She was the sister of the kazekage of Suna, and people seemed to think that gave her privileges above others.
It was the exact opposite. Temari worked everyday, non-stop, and she got no pay or respect for it. Her hard work was considered standard. Since her brother was leader of the village, people thought it was her duty to put her fair share of elbow grease in.
She was usually not one to complain, but it honestly made her blood boil when she thought of her idiotic brother Kankuro. He was the epitomy of everything she hated. He was irresponsible. He did not care about what people said. He was completely useless.
And yet, he was everything she wanted to be. Free to do what he pleased. Nobody expected anything out of him, so he did not have to put any effort. He had no restrictions. Somewhere in the office, he was no doubt gambling with the door guards or loitering around and causing trouble.
Life was not fair.
Temari snapped back to the mission at hand. She made her way expertly through maze-like halls, the route memorized. She was making her way to the main room, where Gaara stayed and worked.
A day ago, a deal was made. A trade of sorts. Nothing big like water supply, but it was Suna's first transaction with the village of Iwa. They neighbored Suna, but neither of the two ever approached the other. Until recently that is.
So a file was obviously necessary, and Temari was right on top of that. Somehow, she was proud of herself. The years had shaped her out to be pretty intelligent. She learned how to survive in the office quickly. Once Gaara became the kazekage, her life took a left turn. She became a jounin, an acheivement she prides herself upon, and she also became Suna's official ambassador to Konoha.
It was truly an accomplishment, people had said. But she couldn't help but feel defeated. All those titles didn't really mean anything. She was still the same, albeit a bit more mature and stronger in battle, but everybody suddenly expected her to give more than what she could offer. Nobody was ever satisfied.
So she made it a habit to go above and beyond. This decision was made almost subconsciously. The blonde didn't realize she was doing extra work until Gaara pointed it out.
"Temari, it isn't necessary for you to do this," Gaara looked up at her after seeing her report proposal for a village building. "This is another person's job, you are making everyone in this government lazy," he said. The tone in his voice sounded almost reprimanding.
But she couldn't stop now, even the thought of doing such a thing made Temari restless.
At any rate, things around the office got done, and usually it was thanks to her, and that was the only way that she felt good, so she did it. Even if it put bags under her eyes, even if she got no compensation for her time and effort...
She finally made it to Gaara's office. The door was marked with the Suna's village symbol, and Temari rapped on the door twice. That was just for courtesy, she already knew her brother was in, she memorized his entire schedule.
"Enter," he said from inside.
Temari opened the door and pulled out the folder from under her arm.
"Gaara, I-" Temari's face dropped. Her jaw tensed.
"Oh, hello Sabaku-san," the petite woman standing beside Gaara said. Temari narrowed her eyes at the loathsome woman.
"Kimura-san, isn't there a meeting you're supposed to attend to?" Temari accused. The new personal assistant Gaara had hired was the biggest problem Temari had ever come across. It put a scowl on her face whenever she thought about her.
The woman dressed sharply everyday, she showed up on time to work in the mornings, the events she coordinates and the issues she solves and the assignments she completes are perfect. This was a nightmare. If there was a girl who did everything exactly the same as Temari did, then where did she fit in? It did not help that Kimura-san had a young face with gorgeous, short hair. There was no room for two perfect girls.
The two quickly became rivals. Each fight came out with a clear winner, and the prize was usually determined by Gaara. Of course, he had no idea about these unofficial contests. Gaara's assistant was just doing her job, and Temari was just being a good sibling.
And yet the war raged on.
"You're right! Then I'll just get business done quickly," Kimura-san smiled and turned to Gaara. "Kazekage-sama, here is the report on the recent textiles trade with Iwagakure," she handed over a manila folder.
Temari's eyes widened. She looked at the folder in her own hand and looked at the one being handed to Gaara.
Fumes began running through her head, and she curled her lips.
"Hn," Gaara thanked, and laid the folder on the table.
Kimura-san bowed to him, and then made to leave. "I will get back to my business now, Sabaku-san," the assistant smiled widely and pushed right by Temari, her heels clicking by arrogantly.
Gaara looked up from his work and looked at Temari with questioning eyes. He looked at the folder in her hand and looked at her impassively. "I appreciate your efforts Temari, but it is just a waste of your time to be doing work that you are not assigned," he said.
Temari finally exploded. "Oh okay, I'm sorry Kazekage, I am clearly at fault here. Obviously, I was out of line to try and help you by filing out a report on a trade," she yelled. "No, it was ridiculous of me to do such an outrageous thing-what was I thinking?"
Gaara stared at the seething girl for a long time, not in anger or pity, but some emotion Temari couldn't place.
The blonde had a sharp intake of breath and froze, she realized what she just did. She just exploded at her brother, at the Kazekage. She felt herself going red. It wasn't his fault she had tried to over achieve and failed. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it again.
Still angry and now feeling embarrassed, she left immediately and half ran back to her room. Thank goodness nobody was around, she wasn't sure she was safe to be with at that point.
How dare that assistant belittle her. And Gaara too! Although he wasn't being particularly rude, some part of her expected him to be on her side. It was probably because they were siblings, but she wasn't foolish enough to believe he would favor her. He wasn't that kind of person by nature. The only reason he was kind to her was because she was a good worker, family had nothing to do with it.
Funny how things worked out the way it did though. She put over ten hours of work into that file report, and she didn't even have to do it. To put it bluntly, she was giving free labor, like a petty intern. No pay, no recognition. All things she didn't even particularly need. Really, all she wanted was some appreciation, and yet that was the one more thing she did not get.
Well damn.
Temari slammed her door shut and paced for a few seconds, looking around her room for some outlet. She didn't know how to release her emotions in a harmless way, so she made do with destroying her room.
Things were in a heap and she finally fell onto her bed and closed her eyes. She thought about what happened and why she was sleeping in a pile of broken things, and her anger did not dissipate. When she finally fell asleep, she realized that was the first time she ever snapped.
Surprisingly, it felt good.
Temari sat at her desk, still in her room. She ate a banana from a basket of fruit she found at her door. The blinds were all shut, but she turned all her lights on and had her fan going on. Her hair blew softly over her shoulder.
Alone in her room was the only time she ever let her hair down. Her hair was something she really prided herself upon. It had such a unique style. It was like her easy ticket to memorable status. No one ever forgot her. Her weapon was a fan for gods sake.
She had been in her room for almost three days. It was probably late in the afternoon, and she was extremely content.
What she tried not to think about was the after effects of her stunt. Everybody would be talking about how immature she was, how she shed her responsibility, etc. But at that moment, all she could think about was how delicious that banana tasted.
Many people came knocking at her door, but she ignored every single request. Most people told her to just come out, some people told her they needed her for help, and a few people even made up obvious lies to draw her out.
"Come out, there has been an emergency with the water well!"
"Temari no kimi, you are needed immediately by several handsome looking men,"
"Temari-sama! Please come out, the people miss you dearly,"
Nothing made her come out. Not even the surprise visit from Gaara himself. He arrived, knocked on her door calmly and waited for her to respond.
She knew it was him, even though he did not say a word. Sister's intuition.
It was such a shock that she was tempted to open the door, just to check and see if it truly was him. In the end, she suppressed her curiosity and let him leave.
She was never hungry. People brought food over all the time. In fact, they brought too much food. Temari was not one to let people's good intentions go to waste. There was no refrigerator in her room, so she was forced to eat everything. Not that she was complaining. Sitting around, doing nothing, and eating was the first vacation she's had in years.
Just as she grabbed a peach from the basket, a loud knocking came upon her door. It was frenzied and desperate, and it was so loud that Temari couldn't ignore it.
"What the-?" Temari shouted over the pounding.
"Temari, Temari please—oh god please just come out!" Kankuro begged. Temari rolled her eyes and laid back into her chair. So typical of Kankuro to not care until he realized he couldn't function without her.
"Why should I," Temari mused, taking a bite out of the peach.
"Yesterday I was in the medic office because some damn new cook put chamomile in the food because you weren't there to tell him not to- that's also why I didn't come to see you," he added. "I mean, nothing is going right. I failed today in roulette even though I never do, I lost all my money, I got a rash, and I lost my shoes. How is that even possible?" he wailed.
Temari rolled her eyes. He had no idea how annoying he sounded. Still, he was her brother, and somehow she felt responsible, as if she were his mother or something. Sometimes she wouldn't doubt it if she was.
"Temari!" he pounded on the door again.
She got out of her chair in exasperation. "Alright! Shut up already!"
He was silenced immediately. Temari grabbed her obi from her wooden desk and wrapped it with expert precision around her waist. No sense looking like a slob, even if she hadn't been out of her room in days.
She held two ties between her teeth when she ran out of hands, putting her hair up with ease.
She unlocked and opened the door irritably with her free hand as she tied her last chunk of blonde hair. Immediately upon looking at Kankuro she was forced to turn away and choke back laughter so he wouldn't hear.
He stood there, slouching like a sloth, his shoes gone –how does one do that?- and his wrinkled clothes were the same ones she saw him wear before she locked herself up in her room. He hadn't even bothered to put on the usual ninja fishnets, so the gaps in his clothes were flapping about pitifully.
Sparkling eyes shot up to look at Temari. "See? I'm the one who suffers from your selfish antics, please, please, please just come out and make me lunch nee-san," he begged. Temari looked at him with narrowed eyes. So this is what it was all about.
She gave him a tight smile. "Of course," she said, and even pinched his cheeks. "How considerate of you to come visit me, you were just what I needed while I was by my lonesome,"
"Oh, thanks Temari," he said, relieved. He followed her suit as she made her way to down the halls.
No, Temari thought to herself. Thank you.
And as she was walking down the dumb, sand colored walls, leading her hopeless brother she was jealous of into the kitchen where she had to consequently make him a lunch, Temari had a turning point in her life.
Life was not fair. Life was not fair when Gaara hired a bimbo who took all the credit and money for every damn thing Temari did in the Suna administrative office. Life was not fair because she had to do all of it anyways. Life was not fair when both her brothers got either extremes and she was stuck in the middle off all that mess. Life was not fair because Temari has to swallow her pride and go back to work yet again.
Life was not fair.
The door to the kitchen appeared and Temari made her way inside it. Nobody was around, lunch break maybe? There's dry humor for you.
Temari turned and pushed Kankuro away gently. "You go sit down at that counter over there while I prepare your food," she said, bringing her hand to her chest like she was offended he would do otherwise. "No need to help me, I've gotten all the rest I needed,"
Her brother stared, shocked at Temari, then he burst into laughter and jubilantly made his way over to the counter and seated himself.
"Maybe we should lock you up in your room once every week," he joked. She rustled through the pantry and brought out a few ingredients.
She ran by his counter and served him some rice wine for his aching bones. After grabbing a pan, she ran by some rosemary and put it in Kankuro's drink. It would soothe his itching.
Life definitely was not fair.
There was some dying lavender on the windowsill, and she grabbed some petals and crushed it in her fingers to sprinkle on his clothes so they would smell refreshing and calming. Afterall, he hadn't taken a shower in days.
Life was a potluck of unfairness.
She threw the food into the pan and over the fire, flipping things over and aside with her wooden spoon like a pro.
But...
In her palm, she held an ingredient she was hiding from Kankuro.
That didn't mean that life couldn't be fun.
Snickering, she broke it in half and squeezed the contents of the inside all over the food in the pan. The pan hissed in protest and she discarded the evidence quickly. She lightly tapped her finger to her tongue to check the potency of the ingredient and immediately recoiled as if burned. Laughing to herself, she slid the food onto a plate and searched for a pair of chopsticks.
And when life gives you a Habanero Chili.
Kankuro took the plate eagerly and Temari left immediately.
"Enjoy your food," she said pleasantly before she slipped out of the door.
Halfway down the corridor, Temari heard Kankuro scream in pain.
She couldn't help it, Temari burst into laughter as she made her way to Gaara's office to resume work again.
A/N: Awwww, sry Kankuro-tan! Haha revenge is sweet. Do you like this Temari? I was afraid she was too dry, so I put humor into her. Was it overkill? Was it fine? Tell me please and thank you. Review.
And yes I will get my butt to working on Karma.