Temari was just walking into the Konohagakure village when some kid dropped out of the sky and landed on her.
Temari sighed.
"Do I have to go to Konoha? That place is weird. People are too friendly there."
"Sis, I'm sick. I'd go if I could. Besides, the shop needs supplies and Gaara is still visiting his friend."
"Fine, fine." She says. "You owe me."
"Yeah, sure. Have fun! Get some new friends! Get a life! Oh, and bring back some pastries from that shop."
"Will that be all?" Called Temari back, sarcastically.
"Get a boyfriend or something. You're going to turn into a old crone soon." Kankoro snorted. "It'd be funny if you fell for some nerd."
Temari scowled. "No thanks...like I would ever. "
But little did she know...
This place is beautiful at least...
Temari did like plants, and the village hidden in the leaves was definitely living up to its name.
Temari had already bought her supplies and was lugging them home in a large backpack. She walked through a green, vibrant forest. It was nicer than her forest at home. The birds' chirping filled the air. Temari liked the sound of their singing
Crack
"Oomph-"
"Ow, hey!"
The kid, now lying on top of her, stared at her, dazed before blinking and rubbing his neck.
"What a drag."
Shikamaru was just sleeping. His mom had been screeching at him to do laundry and Shikamaru just felt much too tired to be bothered by chores.
So he climbed up a tree and sat down on a sturdy looking branch.
All was well until he started to fall asleep. After that, the branch broke. Then falling asleep was not the only type of falling Shikamaru was doing.
"Oomph-"
"Ow, hey!"
Oh Kami. Why did it have to be a woman? Why? Why couldn't he have fell on Choji, Choji could have caught him (he did have super strength, being of Giant blood). But no, it had to be some (unfortunately curvy) girl.
Ow. Everything hurt.
This train of thought took all but a second. He opened his eyes. And saw teal. A beautiful, bright teal pair of eyes. And they were glaring at him with intense irritation.
"What a drag."
He untangled himself from the blonde stranger (his hand really was too close to her chest).
"What the hell, kid? Don't you have the common sense not to sit on unstable branches?" She fluttered her wings angrily. "Ow! Damn it, I think I broke a foot or something." Sure enough, there was remains of the branch on her leg.
Shikamaru stared.
"Kid, I have hollowish bones. Fae, you know?" She flapped her huge pale cream wings. Huh, somehow the wings had escaped his notice until just now...
Shikamaru spoke at last, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep." He then sighed, a little overdramaticly, in a classic Shikamaru manner.
"Here."
He lifted the branch carefully. Temari swore. Faerie swears were creative, that was for sure.
She tested her leg, cautiously. She grimaced.
"Fractured," she announced. "How wonderful."
She started to get up. She grabbed her bag and began fluttering away. "Guess I can still go h-"
Shikamaru stared. "Are you insane?" He interrupted.
What?
She must of looked pretty irritated.
"Kid, I'm a Faerie warrior and a little fractured leg can't stop m-"
"Look woman, you can't fly three days with a broken leg. You're from the Sand, yeah? Well then, it's three whole days with a bent wing," he indicated her scruffy looking left wing, "and a fractured leg."
She blinked. He's considerate, she mused.
"Men always have to look after women," he continued.
Nope, never mind.
"Oh, cut the crap. That's nonsense, I can take care of mys-"
"So I guess I should help you."
Huh?
"Ino, my friend, is a medic, kinda. I'm sure she can help." He continued
She thought about it. Her ankle was starting to throb painfully.
"Alright..." She grumbled. "But make it quick."
"Hey, looks like Nara Shikamaru finally found himself a girlfriend!" Called Ino, as they stepped in to her small but pretty white house.
"Shut up Ino", grumbled Shikamaru. " This is my friend Ino. Ino, this is...er."
"Temari."
"Yeah." Shikamaru finished rather lamely.
"Hi! Wow, you're so pretty. I'm sorry for thinking you were Shikamaru's girlfriend. You're just too pretty to be! Your wings are just lovely, Temari! I wish I had wings." Ino chattered. Temari looked amused.
"It's nice to meet you too."
Shikamaru interrupted. "She is injured, Ino."
"What happened?"
Shikamaru looked a tad embarrassed. "I fell on her from a tree and she fractured, she thinks, her leg."
"Good job, Casanova. I'm sure you really impressed Temari." She said, while pulling our a chair.
"Now Iet me see..." Said Ino.
She poked Temari's leg a few times, tapped a few parts of it and asked if it hurt, on a scale of one to ten. Temari hissed when Ino touched her ankle
"Small fracture...here lemme just put bandages on the scrapes wrap it... some magic to help you heal...all done!"
"Thank you, Ino." Said Temari "and you too, Nara." She looked at the door. "I should-"
"Oh no you don't." Ino cut in. "Rest at least a day. Don't mess up your ankle."
"I can't, I need to get home. My brothers-"
"...Will understand you being late just one day. Just today, it's morning so just stay until dark."
"I can't." Insisted Temari.
"Yes, you can."
"No, I can't."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
Ino was quiet. Then she opened her big blue eyes and looked at Temari. "Stay."
Her voice sounded different. Like honey if honey was a sound. Temari felt very compelled to stay forever.
"For a day." Clarified Ino. "Promise?"
"Okay." Said Temari.
Shikamaru put his hand on his face. "Stop using your Siren bloodline."
What? She's a Siren?
"Kami, Ino."
Temari grumbled. "Damn."
Ino winked. "Special perks of my heritage... A fourth Siren, the rest water Nymph."
"Now go out there and have fun!"
Terrific.
"So," said Temari as they walked the streets of Konoha Village. "What are you? I mean, what species? There are no humans in Hidden Villages.
He sighed.
" Well..."
Suddenly his head sproughted antlers.
"Oh! Faun?"
"Nah, not a goat." He pointed at the antlers. "Stag. Or, deer. I'd show you the furry half but I don't feel like losing clothes in a public street. You know."
He really hated that bit.
"Ah. Temari nodded.
"I prefer to keep the human form. Less troublesome."
"Hmph." Snorted Temari. "With you everything's troublesome."
"Yeah, no kidding." Said a voice. It belonged to a chubby boy with a kind expression.
"Who are you?"
The boy smiled, chewing another chip from his huge pack of them. "Choji", he said. " Shikamaru's friend. Nice to meet you..."
"Temari."
"Well, Temari, any friend of Shikamaru's is a friend of mine! You guys should come with me. I'm getting dango."
Shikamaru opened his mouth, but Temari was already replying.
"Of course. I'm starving."
My life is filled with women that are troublesome...why gods, why?
"What a drag. Fine, woman, have it your way...lead on, Choji."
"Mmm!"
"I don't like sugar."
"How?" Said Temari, somewhat offended.
"I just don't."
"Yeah, Shikamaru isn't big on food. Disappointing isn't it..." Choji sighed.
Temari munched her dango daintily. For a scary woman, she had perfect etiquette.
"Hmm." Said Choji. "You actually...look familiar."
Temari gave a secretive smile, cat-like.
"Do I?"
"I must be confused. I've never met you, I'm sure of it."
Temari finished off her dango. She looked expectantly at Shikamaru. He hadn't touched his.
"Fine."
Temari sighed happily as she ate. Shikamaru looked on, amused.
Strange woman.
After Choji had left, saying he had barbeque waiting at home, Temari continued on, Shikamaru besides her.
"Well, where to?" She asked. It was afternoon now.
I'm only here because Ino threatened me.
"Training fields?" He suggested.
"You have training fields?" She said, surprised.
"We can all do basic self-defense. In case of an attack on the village."
"Well, I'm actually pretty good at fighting." She replied, with poorly concealed smugness.
She only gets more frightening. Note to self: don't piss Temari off.
"There it is." Ahead was a grassy field with wooden poles.
Upon arriving, she stretched and cracked her knuckles. Shikamaru internally gulped.
Temari fluffed her wings. The purple moons on them stood out especially. Then, without warning, she swung a wing outward, sending a blast of wind right at a training pole. A deep gash appeared in the poor wooden pole.
Temari smiled. "Warm-up." She explained.
Yikes.
"You sure you can do all that with your ankle in that condition?"
"I haven't been touching the ground."
A couple tiny tornadoes later, a few wooden poles were splinters.
Shikamaru was in deep angst. On one hand, this girl was really cool and amazing but on the other, she scared the crap out of him.
Freaking scary woman, scarier than my mom.
"Hey," she said. "Let's spar.
Shikamaru didn't have masochist qualities. Probably.
"Yoooosh! Onward with the fire of youth!"
"Hello, Lee."
"Hello, Shikamaru-san. Hello, Temari-hime." He replied, very politely. "What brings you out here today?"
"You...he knows you?...you're a princess?"
Temari shrugged. She pulled out a necklace like thing and set it on her head.
"Crown gets in my vision." She said casually.
"Temari is Suna's princess. Didn't you know, Shikamaru-san?"
"Must be my memory." Muttered Shikamaru. In actuality, he just expected a princess to be more uptight and well mannered. Not the violent, frightening, beautiful creature this woman was. Then again, maybe there weren't many fae named Temari...
Wait...beautiful? Did he actually think that? No, must have been a mistake.
"Well, it's a pleasure to serve, your highness Temari-hime." Deadpanned Shikamaru. Temari swatted his arm.
"Oh, shut up. If you ever call me that again, I'll send a hurricane-"
"Yeah, yeah." Said Shikamaru, but he was smiling slightly.
After Temari had sparred with Lee...and lost (she didn't specialize in hand to hand ) she was exhausted.
She'd eaten lunch, Lee had youthful sandwiches and juice (this was Lee)
Now she had nothing to do.
"Maybe I can leave early?"
"If you want Ino or my mom to kill me."
He paused. "Wait a minute, we're too close to-"
"Shiikaaamaaaruuuu!"
"Run, thats my mo-"
Yoshino appeared out of seemingly nowhere and grabbed his hand.
"Oh no you don't young man." She hissed. "You were supposed to finish the chores. I was busy with the garden and the least you could have done was just doing the laundry but no. You went gallivanting off, probably hid in a tree. Just like Shikaku, lazy-"
Temari slowly backed off.
Yoshino gasped and her face changed from lion to small kitten in the span of two seconds.
"Shikamaru! You didn't tell me you knew a girl! And the Princess too...oh, I am so sorry, Temari-sama, it's just my idiot son here- well actually he's not an idiot, just a pain..."
"Gee, ma."
Temari laughed. "Oh, don't bother with the suffixes, I'm just Temari. And I know he's an idiot, I've been around him for a few hours."
Yoshino smiled. "I'd be happy to hear all about it. Come in, have some tea." She gestured to the door of a wooden house. Temari thanked her and walked towards to door.
"I like her. She would be good for you. Is she your girlfriend? I need grandkids, son." She whispered somewhat loudly to Shikamaru.
Temari laughed internally.
After Temari finished telling Yoshino all about her eventful day, Yoshino suddenly realized she'd promised to visit a friend.
"Oh dear, I haven't planted the daisies yet...I guess I will have to do it tommorow. Wait...Shikamaru, you can do it."
"Me?" Sighed Shikamaru.
"Temari should sit a while and rest, so it's perfect! Have them planted by sundown, got it son?" And she was out the door.
"Damn it." sighed Shikamaru.
"I can help." Said Temari, slightly amused.
How Temari loved gardening. Flowers were just so...
"Boring. Messy. I hate planting." Muttered Shikamaru.
"Oh, get over it. Don't be so lazy."
"Che." Mumbled the lazy boy as he lay down on the grass. Sleep overtook his senses. Well, just until he felt something cold.
Temari's muddy finger. Poking his cheek.
"What..."
Temari smug eyes met his when he got up.
He went back to sleep.
Undeterred, she crept over and pinned him to the ground, proceeded to write NERD in mud on his forehead, and laugh too much at the end result until he woke up and facepalmed.
He flicked mud at her, and it hit her on the nose.
"This means war." She said, fanged smile daring him to try something else.
Thirty minutes later, both were covered partially in mud but smiling. Then they realised the daisies still were unplanted.
"How troublesome."
Yoshino returned to see her flowers planted but the planters muddy and laughing.
-a bottle of soap later -
"I guess I can go home soon." She sighed. "That really was exhausting."
The sun would set in a few minutes.
"Before you leave...come with me." Shikamaru looked in the distance. "There's somewhere I think you'd like."
"I..."
She glanced at him.
"Okay, lead the way.
The ended up at a wooden gate.
"Why are we-"
"Here." He unlocked the gate leading into some woods.
"Okay, we're going into your yard, I guess. Or your parents', since you live with them still."
"I-"
Temari smirked.
"Oh, shut up."
The walked through twisty paths to get to the place. The place was...
"Wow, Nara."
A small grassy area, high enough to over look a lake below. The lake itself was clear and pristine; it reflected the red and orange sky.
Shikamaru gestured for her to sit. She sat down in the grass, and stared, mesmerised at the sky. The wisps of cloud floated lazily by. Temari thought it might be the prettiest thing she'd ever seen.
She looked at Shikamaru. The look in her eyes were softer now, not as fierce.
She grinned, a scary and wolf-like smile but beautiful all the same.
He look down, cheeks a bit pink
So they sat, looking at the red streaked sky together, a faery and a deer.
Well, I guess I have to go now." Said Temari. Shikamaru had followed her to the gates of Konoha Village.
"Yeah." He said.
She looked away, looking like she wanted to say something.
"I, uh...thank you, Shikamaru."
He smiled slightly. "No problem."
"Don't miss me too much."
He snorted. "Sure, troublesome woman. As if I..."
But he couldn't finish.
"You're pretty okay, so visit again, yeah?" He muttered, looking embarrassed.
"Of course. I know I'm great." She said, grinning
She started walking back in the direction of home.
"Later."
"Bye."
As she walked away, Temari felt strange. Weirdly...happy, but sad. She'd have to find time to visit again.
Maybe Konoha wasn't as bad as she thought it was.
Maybe it's villagers weren't all bad either
-AN: these are part of my fantasy au ^.^ I hope I didn't have too many typos