Characters: Temari, Naruto
Summary: "Whatever whacko world you come from, can I please go back with you?"
Pairings: None
Author's Note: If any of you are familiar with my romance drabble collection Iris, this may bring up memories of the ItaTema chapter Green-Eyed Lady. Well I'm here to tell all of you that this encounter occurred just before Temari ran into Itachi.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
At first eight-year-old Temari was deeply excited when her father decided to take her with her to Konoha for the Chunin Exams. She had never been away from Suna before, and it would be something to hold over Kankuro's head when he got back; Kankuro was being kept behind because he'd been misbehaving himself and the Kazekage was not impressed.
It was all very exciting at first.
But then, very quickly, it got depressingly dull and devastatingly boring.
So Temari decided she'd go exploring the village, with or without the nin assigned to guard her.
And she ended up going without.
Needless to say, a blonde-haired tanned little girl in a lavender silk kimono tends to stand out in Konoha—blonde hair isn't all that common there, tans are considered uncouth and silk, in any village, is a fabric mostly reserved for the elite—especially if she's alone. Temari intends to stay alone, at any costs.
For right now, Temari's having fun. At least more fun than she normally does. She's in a village she's never seen before, being treated to new sights and she doesn't have the specter of Gaara hanging over her head. That always makes things better.
Things take a turn for the truly interesting when a blond blur hurtles straight into her knees.
Temari squeaks and the smaller child falls backwards about a foot, much to the amusement of onlookers nearby—malicious amusement, Temari can't help but notice.
She can only blink as the child—a boy with bright blue eyes—rights himself and smiles. Grins blindingly, in fact. "Sorry! Didn't see you there!"
Temari can only shrug a little bit. "That's alright."
Somehow, they end up sneaking behind a hot dog stand on a sidewalk, kneeling between the stand and the wall with peeling white paint, presumably hiding from whoever was chasing the boy.
"So who's been chasing you?" Temari asks after the boy swipes two hotdogs from the currently unmanned stand. She looks at the food item, heavily doused in mustard, pickles, onions and sauerkraut in fascination; she's never seen a hotdog before. The boy wolfs down his with such enthusiasm that she decides it's probably safe and finds, to her pleasure that "hotdogs", whatever they are, taste very good. She's going to have to go looking for them when she gets back to Suna.
The boy shrugs, mimicking Temari's earlier gesture. "Some older kids who say I've insulted them." He grins again, showing the gap of a missing baby tooth near the center of the top of his mouth. "But they can't catch me!"
"Because you're the gingerbread man?" the older girl asks whimsically, and the Konoha boy laughs.
"Na-ah. Because I…" He pauses for dramatic effect and Temari raises an eyebrow "…Am…" Another pause for dramatic effect "…Incredible!"
For a moment, Temari can only stare. Then, she does what most people do under such a circumstance.
She laughs.
"You're crazy!" Temari exclaims, wiping tears from her eyes. She can't remember the last time she's laughed like this. "You are absolutely out of your mind!"
"It's true!" The boy protests, face—scarred face, Temari notices—reddening. "I'm the best ninja out there! Nobody can catch me. I am the best, you'll see; I'll be king… or… whatever of this village someday."
This time, Temari only grins. "Kid, you live in a fantasy world. And on that, I have only one thing to say to you. Whatever whacko world you come from, can I please go back with you?"
Before the boy can respond, Temari hears the familiar shouts. Baki has picked up on her trail.
She tears off in the opposite direction from the Sand jonin immediately. There will be no goodbyes for this kid, even if thoughts of him have Temari smiling for the rest of the day.