The Wind That Blew My Heart Away
#6 Sunflower/Haughtiness
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Temari slipped out of the guest room quietly, careful not to wake any of the other women, particularly not the older ones. It was just what she needed, for one of those old cronies to wake up and get on her case for opting out of taking her afternoon siesta.
She moved down the bright hallway slowly, holding onto her large crinoline skirts to prevent them from swaying and making any sound. Oh, how she hated those things - they were so large and cumbersome and uncomfortable.
At the top of the staircase, she paused and listened but the only sounds that met her ears were the swaying of fans and several loud snores emanating from the room she'd just exited. She scoffed, 'Lady like, indeed.' She made her way down the staircase as quickly as possible without making any sound, then started down a hallway identical to the one she'd passed through upstairs, listening closely.
Finally she heard men's voices. A small, pleased smile appeared on her face as she quickened her pace and walked over to a door further down the hallway. She paused next to the door and peeked in - she could just see a number of men gathered inside, including both of her brothers. They were talking about the North-South conflict - it seemed to be getting worse and worse. It was even rumoured that there might be a civil war. She frowned as their talk stirred up her strong anti-war sentiment.
She wanted to go in but she waited, only inching a little closer so that she could get a better view of the room. She hadn't heard her father's voice but he might be in there and he'd tan her hide if he saw her in the midst of a gathering of men, talking with them about 'men's affairs' like an equal - it was enough of a risk just going in there.
Just then, she heard him. Temari froze - the voice was coming from behind her, a good distance away but obviously getting closer.
Alarmed, the twenty-one year old ducked into the first room she set eyes on - it was further down the hall, some distance away from the one where the men were gathered. She caught a glimpse of her father just as she closed the door. She only prayed that he hadn't glimpsed her - after all, the deep purple and blue hues of her dress were pretty hard to miss, even from so far away.
She would have remained standing by the door, had a noise from behind her not caught her attention. Temari turned and stepped back in surprise as a dark head appeared over the back of the couch. She momentarily forgot about her father, curious as to who this young man was.
"Who are you, sir? And what are you doing in here?"
He frowned and she distinctly heard him mutter something before he stood up and turned to her. He was dressed in a dark suit like most of the other men but surprisingly, his hair was tied up in a ponytail - she couldn't recall having seen him before and she was sure that she would have remembered that.
"I was trying to get some sleep actually," he responded.
She frowned - he had an accent, a Northern accent, "Are you a Yankee?"
He shook his head, "No, despite my accent, I'm not."
She eyed him warily, "You still haven't answered my first question. Who are you?"
He bowed his head slightly, "Shikamaru Nara." When she continued to look perplexed, he continued, "I'm a relative of the Yamanakas."
She nodded, recognition dawning on her features, "Oh yes, Ino told me that one of her cousins was coming. Well, it's nice meeting you, Mr. Nara."
He shrugged and fell back onto the couch, "You don't have to say it if you don't mean it - not to me, anyway."
Temari scowled and stepped closer to the couch, "Who says I didn't mean it?"
He picked up his hat (which had fallen when she woke him) and placed it over his face once more. "You didn't sound like it."
Temari rolled her eyes, then frowned once again as she realized that he meant to go back to sleep, "You know Mr. Nara - "
"Shikamaru."
"Pardon?"
"Call me Shikamaru," he said. "Mr. Nara's my father, not me. Besides," he added, rising to give her a once over, "you're older than me anyway."
Temari's eyes widened and she drew herself up to her full height, "Are you saying I look old?" she asked, a dangerous current in her voice.
"No," he promptly replied, "just older than me."
Temari took a short, quick breath, scowling darkly, "Why you - That is not a very gentlemanly thing to say."
"Well," he said, regarding her knowingly, "sneaking about when you're supposed to be taking your afternoon siesta probably isn't a very lady-like thing to do."
Temari looked enraged but she was too shocked to reply. 'The nerve of this little - ugh!'
Glimpsing her expression, Shikamaru sighed and said, "Listen, Miss, I'm really not trying to offend you - "
"Well, you could have fooled me," she interjected.
"Well, I apologize. It was unintentional, really."
Temari took a deep breath to calm herself and then sighed - she had come down here hoping to find out what was really going on with the North-South conflict and instead had ended up stuck in a room with some smart mouthed little boy. Her eyes widened in realization - then again, this boy did have a Northern accent.
"Well," she said, moving over to the window, "perhaps I have been a little sensitive. You'll forgive me for that, won't you?"
He followed her with his eyes, "Sure, sure."
She peered outside and her eyes immediately fell on the bright, yellow sunflowers beneath the window. Suddenly she turned back to him, "Tell me - if you're not a Yankee, why in the world do you have that accent?"
He frowned, "I just came back from up north - my family sent me over there for a year to learn about trade and industry."
She raised her eyebrows, "You're telling me you picked up that accent after only a year?"
He shrugged, "I pick up accents easily. They call it a gift but I just think it's troublesome. It's got everyone thinking I'm a Yankee and now's not exactly the best time for me to be giving people that impression."
Temari hid a smile - now he was getting to what she wanted to know. "Why ever not? What's wrong with being from up North?"
He looked at her sceptically, "Don't tell me you haven't heard about the tension between the Northern States and the Confederacy. You must have - you even asked me if I was a Yankee."
"Because I wanted to know, not because I have anything against them," she replied, moving away from the window.
He scoffed quietly, "Well you're one of the few that don't. Most folks are mad at the Yankees now, even if it's just out of principle."
"Is that so?" Temari asked, still feigning ignorance.
He nodded, "Yes. We Southerners are just too proud sometimes."
'Well, I'll be,' Temari thought as she moved closer to the couch, surprised at the boy's comment. But on to more important things, "So this tension you were talking about, how bad is it? Is it just gonna blow over?"
Shikamaru placed his feet on the floor and looked down at the hat in his hands, "It will if the plantation owners agree to free their slaves."
Temari chuckled, "Free the slaves? Why that's crazy! What we do without them?"
He glanced sharply at her, "It's not crazy, it's already been done up North. You don't have to get rid of them, you just have to pay them. Is that too much to ask?"
Temari turned away, disliking the way he was looking at her, "And if we refuse? What's going to happen then?"
He sighed, "Well then things will just get worse. Some folks are talking about war."
She turned around then and strode purposefully over to him, speaking quickly, passionately, "That's not going to happen! They would never be so foolish as to start a civil war. Think about what that'll do to our country, to our people! It's selfish, is what it is!"
Shikamaru's eyes widened. He was obviously surprised at her outburst, which wasn't strange considering that he thought she didn't even know about the conflict. He opened his mouth to respond ut paused when quick, heavy footsteps sounded from in the hallway.
Temari's eyes widened and she dove in front of the couch, pulling her skirts down as best she could. Totally perplexed now, Shikamaru turned to question her but she raised her finger to her lips to stop him. Just then, the door opened.
Shikamaru's head whipped around and he stood quickly when he recognized the man in the doorway, taking care not to step on Temari. "Good day, sir," he said, bowing his head slightly in greeting.
The man nodded, looking around the room suspiciously, then turned back to Shikamaru, "I thought I heard a woman in here just now, boy. You wouldn't happen to be meeting with some young lady unchaperoned, would you?"
On the floor, Temari stiffened - of course, it just had to be her father. She shut her eyes, praying that Shikamaru wouldn't give her away.
Shikamaru shook his head, "I wouldn't dream of that, sir. I can't imagine what you heard - I was just in here, uh..." He trailed off, sure that he'd be scolded for sleeping in the middle of the day, like a woman. Then Temari pushed a book onto the couch. He picked it up quickly, "I was just reading, sir. Just came in here to get some quiet."
Temari's father eyed him sceptically, then said, "Well, enough of that - you put that book back and come join the rest of us in the other room. Now's not the time for reading."
Temari scowled, jealousy surging up within her - what she wouldn't give for him to say that to her!
Shikamaru nodded, "Yes, sir. I'll be right there."
Nodding affirmatively, Temari's father slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him. Temari waited until his footsteps had completely receded before she released the breath that she'd been holding. She jumped up and immediately began dusting off her dress - thank Goodness, they had a carpet.
"Thanks," she whispered, "that was my father. If he had caught me in here..."
Shikamaru nodded, "Sure, I understand. Now I really think you should go."
She nodded and glanced at the door, her shoulders slumping in defeat, "It looks like I'll have to go back upstairs."
Shikamaru considered her, then ran his fingers through his hair, "Listen, I...wouldn't mind talking to you again - about what's going on," he added quickly, looking down to hide his embarrassment. "What do you say?"
Temari let a little smile play on her lips but erased it as soon as he looked up at her. She nodded, holding her head high, "I suppose that will be all right. You're going to be here for awhile, won't you? I'll see if I can arrange a visit sometime - without my father."
He nodded, "That sounds like a grand idea."
Granting him a smile for the first time, she curtsied and started to leave the room.
"Ah, wait! What's your name?" he called out.
She turned back, frowning - he'd spoken too loud, "It's Temari. Now keep your voice down," she muttered as she opened the door and glanced outside. The hallway was empty but the door to the other room was wide open. She turned and beckoned to him, "You leave first - and make sure that you close the door when you enter."
Frowning a bit at her bossiness, Shikamaru walked around the couch and over to the door. He paused next to it and bobbed his head in farewell, "Good-bye Miss Temari."
She nodded, "Good-bye Mr. Nara - ah, Shikamaru," she added after he gave her a look.
She moved aside to let him through, then watched as he walked slowly down the hallway and into the other room. Temari waited until she heard the soft click of the door before she slipped out of the room herself and then padded softly down the hallway in the direction in which she came.
As she reached the end of the hallway, she heard the door open once again. In alarm, she looked back and caught Shikamaru's eye - he had opened the door just a little and was standing in front of the space so that no one else could see outside.
Temari smiled once again, then turned and started to make her way back up the winding staircase, feeling suddenly that going through all of the trouble of coming downstairs had not, in fact, been a waste.
A/N: I'm not claiming that this is historically accurate so forgive any discrepancies you find. I was just watching Gone With the Wind last night and this idea came to me. Please let me know what you think.