Ch.2: Smoke in the Eyes
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Civilization is hideously fragile... there's not much between us and the Horrors underneath, just about a coat of varnish.
~C.P. Snow
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Fifteen minutes later, Temari was squeezed into a chair at a restaurant she wasn't particularly fond of. She was busying herself by looking at the cutlery, while onslaught of conversation went on around her. Which really was miraculous considering the only ones currently sitting at the given booth, were her, Ino, and Chouji. Although, most of the conversation was coming from Ino.
Ino was chattering on about fashion mistakes. Temari, while normally rather fond of the social blonde, had never been one to talk about fashion. In Temari's mind, so long as somebody wasn't walking around naked or half-naked, any type of clothing was appropriate.
There of course, Ino had decided to proclaim, was a grave error in her reasoning. The thin blonde had stated that while nakedness was clearly not a fashion, and therefore a grave error, half-nakedness was certainly appropriate if done correctly. She'd gone on further to explain that it was quite acceptable for a male to walk around shirtless if possessing the right build and jewelry to showcase it.
Hidan, of the boys school, while not anyone's idea of a nice person to hang around with (at least, as far as Temari gathered), apparently was a perfect example of good half-naked fashion at work. The pale haired religious zealot, had been known to walk around shirtless, paired with dark pants, and a gleaming silver cross hanging from his neck. That, Ino decreed, was wondrous fashion.
Personally, Temari thought Ino was just distracted by the muscles he sported. Not that she'd ever quite mentioned such a thing. Most of the girls at the school would snort indignantly at her comment if she did so, but it would also result in various dreamy-eyed drooling girls.
"And that necklace is atrocious, Temari." Ino scowled, her lips pursed. "It doesn't match at all."
"I don't particularly care." Temari replied. The necklace wasn't the one she usually sported. Normally, she donned a silver chain with the small Suna emblem for strength hanging from it. She tended to wear that particular necklace because it was a gift her youngest brother had given her – the first gift he ever had actually. It meant a lot to her, so she was happy to wear it all the time.
"Where's your normal necklace?" Ino asked, "The pretty one? Now, Gaara, he has taste in jewelry."
Temari pursed her lips. "I just picked this one." Not entirely true. She'd been unable to find the necklace for the past three days. She knew she had left it somewhere in her room; she just could not figure out the whereabouts. Temari assumed that Kankurou had accidentally shoved it in his bags when he left for his competition.
Temari hoped so.
"Touchy." Ino flipped her hair absent-mindedly and continued on about her tirade about lack of coordination in outfits.
Temari, upon seeing the attention directed away from her again, returned to playing with the cutlery.
"Are you hungry, Temari?" Chouji asked her sincerely after a few minutes, in which she had continued playing with the utensils.
Temari dropped the cutlery and blushed lightly, "No…I just…I…" Temari frowned, "I'm just fucking bored. I have to hear this prima donna fashion disaster crap all day long at school – hearing it here is frankly more than I can honestly take."
"I would think you needed it." A cool lofty voice said. Shikamaru slid into the chair next to Chouji.
Temari's lips pursed. "Stuff it, choir boy."
He glanced at her minutely, his eyebrows lifting just barely as he did so. "Choir?"
Temari wondered how he could look so composed, controlled, and lazy all at the same time.
It kind of made her want to throw her fork at his forehead.
"Anyway," Chouji butt in, obviously trying to avoid it escalating any further, "Maybe we should order anyway. Waiting for Naruto, Gaara, and Lee seems pointless. They probably got distracted at the arcade."
Temari slunk further in her chair and avoided looking at Shikamaru. Instead she stretched her legs and rested them against a part of the chair he wasn't sitting on. It might have been a childish fit of hers, but she sort of wanted to do something to irritate him – something to take away some level of comfort he had, as if to make up for the fact that his mere presence took away comfort from her. She also wanted to get a rise out of him – but she knew a simple act like that would not work. It never worked. If it weren't for a slight inclination of his head, Temari wouldn't have known he'd noticed. But in that brief second in which he cocked his head at where her feet were a multitude of expression showed in his eyes.
Temari hated him just for being able to convey emotion that easily.
"Why not?" Was Shikamaru's cool response to Chouji's comment.
They decided to order then, which went quickly and smoothly, once more leaving Temari with nothing more to do but play with the cutlery.
"It was a horrible mistake." Ino prattled on. "But now she wears it around like she's proud of having accidently dyed her hair pink."
Stopping in-between a battle between the fork and the spoon, Temari lifted her head to look at the blonde. While she had not been paying much attention she was quite sure Ino was talking about Sakura. Nobody else possessed pink hair. Temari had actually wondered why the girl's hair had been pink one day. She'd initially thought it was a mistake, but the way Sakura carried on confidently, she'd decided the girl had done it on purpose. Apparently, that was only the impression Sakura had wanted to give.
"It's sickening. She thinks she's so fantastic."
"Ino," Temari said, "Isn't Sakura your best friend?" Not to mention the fact that Ino quite thought she was 'so fantastic' as well. But that probably wasn't the smartest thing to say.
"She's still stupid and annoying me." Ino harrumphed.
Temari lightly stabbed the spoon with the fork. "Interesting." The fork, for all its points, was nowhere near as violent as the spoon, which put the battle on even grounds, since the spoon did not have quite such dangerous points at its disposal.
"Is that fun?"
Temari looked up to see Shikamaru watching her in dry amusement. Like one looks at a silly child. Temari pursed her lips. "Fairly." The spoon began to smash onto the fork. Temari imagined the fork was Shikamaru as she watched the spoon smack it.
Ino coughed lightly, "So…" She smirked suddenly, then, "Shikamaru is there any particular reason you called Temari, here, an 'overrated piece of shit'?"
Chouji who'd been drinking his soda, spluttered a little.
Temari's grip on the fork and spoon tightened.
Shikamaru didn't respond immediately, "Because she is."
Temari wasn't even going to bother claiming it as an accident; she jerked her foot and kicked him hard. But before she could respond verbally to his comment, he continued.
He winced briefly and glared at her. "All she does is respond with violence."
Temari stood up angrily and slammed her hands on the table, "Listen, you—"
"You listen," He interrupted coolly, "you have an interesting way with words and you're very good at not only getting your point across, but getting others to believe you as well. Your fucking problem is that you're so damn hot-headed that you lose control of everything. You're a damn time bomb." He closed his lips abruptly and a vaguely surprised look wormed across his face.
Chouji was staring at him with his eyes open wide and mouth slightly agape.
Ino was counting something on her fingers. Temari almost swore she heard her say 'three'.
Temari wasn't one to let people insult her and say nothing back. She especially could not do that when it was him who was insulting her. Every word he said pissed her off – his insults moreso. "I don't know where the hell you get off telling me all this. You don't fucking know me. And to pretend that—"
"I'm not pretending anything. You're overrated." He repeated. "That's why you never win."
Temari's anger tripled. "If you—"
"Look what you're doing now. Losing your temper."
Temari wanted to hurt him so bad.
"You're overrated because you're out of control." He paused. "It's no wonder your brother can't talk to you."
Ino's jaw dropped open. "This is bad. Very bad." She edged away a little.
"You, you, you…" While Temari had started off furious, she didn't know what to say to him. She didn't know what to say, because he'd said the exact thing she'd been worried about for years now. Gaara was in problems and she couldn't get him to talk to her. Her hands fell limply to her sides.
At that moment a phone started ringing.
Ino's fingers closed around her upper shoulder. She didn't say anything, and Temari wasn't entirely sure what she was trying to do. Maybe stop her from launching at Shikamaru?
If so, Ino needn't have worried. It was not in the forefront of her mind to do so. She dimly grew aware that a great many of the people sitting down at the restaurant were staring at them in interest.
Shikamaru fished a phone from his pocket and flicked it open, his eyes never straying off her face as he did so, "Yeah?"
Temari didn't know what to say or how to act. She didn't know if she was angry or if she was shamed. She was many things, but mostly she was numb.
"You what?" His eyebrows creased. "No, I – you did what?" His voice was strained. "I can't – fuck, should you be calling – then what about – No, I don't happen to think it's unreasonable to ask you to go to your famil—" He grimaced. "Fine. Fine." He ran a hand through his hair, "I'll take care of it. But don't think I'm keeping this one a secret too. I'm telling her." He winced again lightly, "Don't try to barter with me. You want my help, fine, but I'm telling her." The speaker on the other line seems to mutter a couple more words. "So, we're agreed?" A pause. "Good. We'll be over in a few minutes." He sighed in exasperation. "Yes, we." A pause, "Yes, now. Together, okay?" He sighed again. "See you in a few. Yes." He nodded, "Yes." Another sigh. "Yeah, I will. Relax." Another pause by him. "Alright. Bye." Then he snapped the phone shut. He sat up quickly, "Temari, I need a word with you."
She stood awkwardly facing him, feeling disoriented and annoyed. She got the feeling she should be angrier than that, but something inside of her felt very small and shamed at his words, shutting down her normal response to be furious.
"Shikamaru, I hardly think that's what's best." Ino said slowly, eyeing her carefully. In a lower voice directed only to her, Ino added, "Temari, do you need to sit down, or get water, or something?"
Temari shrugged her off, "It's not like he hit me or anything. Why the fuck would I need to sit down?" Her voice was soft, annoyed, and harsh.
"It's not what's best," Shikamaru said slowly to Ino, his eyes following her movements as if he too suspected she needed to sit down, "But I need to talk to her."
"To apologize hopefully." Temari heard Chouji mutter.
"I don't think—" Ino began.
"It's about Gaara, Temari."
Suddenly, some of the things he'd been saying on the phone made sense to her. A disturbing uneasy feeling settled in her stomach. What if he was in trouble? Temari straightened abruptly, "Alright."
"But—" Ino began.
"I'm fine, Ino."
"You don't look fine." She muttered dryly.
Shikamaru, not waiting for another word, moved around the table and gripped Temari's upper arm lightly. Quickly and effortlessly, he pulled her away from Chouji and Ino and began making his way out of the restaurant.
"What's wrong with him?" Temari asked immediately.
"Idiot got himself landed in jail again."
Temari winced, "Again?"
He cast her a sidelong glance, "If you count this one, it'll be three."
"Three!?" Temari exclaimed as he pulled her in and out of cars among the parking lot, "I'll kill that—"
He stopped suddenly and turned to face her, his eyes dark and annoyed. "It's that."
She blinked. "What are you talking about?"
"It's that anger that I'm talking about." He explained crossly, "Yeah, you have a reason to be pissed, but don't broadcast this violent anger at people. It frightens people."
"It what?"
"You give off the ever-irritating perception that if others screw up they are pathetic. Like you don't fuck up." He snapped crossly, "Gaara won't talk to you because he doesn't want to disappoint you, and he thinks everything he can possibly do will disappoint you."
"That's ridiculous." She snapped at him, "You're lying."
"Take it or call it a damn lie, Temari, but that is the truth." He replied smoothly, his face expressionless once more. He once more resumed his way maneuvering through cars, his fingers curled around her upper arm.
Temari countered furiously, "You're being stupid; I've never given Gaara—"
"I am not continuing this line of conversation, Temari."
"But—"
"Enough." He butt in crossly. He stopped in front of a dark-hued emerald old car. "Get in."
Temari scowled, "I'm not done with this." She thought she saw his lip twitch briefly.
"Then we'll deal with it some other time. Right now, I think you'll agree, is not the time."
Only halting the line of conversation because she felt he was right about it not being the right time, Temari wrenched the passenger door open as Shikamaru went around to the driver's side. She slid into the old car with a bit of trepidation. It went against her instincts to get in a car with a guy she seriously disliked. Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she reminded herself it was all for Gaara. Her stomach churned at the thought of him. It was a mixture of anger, frantic worry, and sadness. Temari sighed – things were never easy with her youngest brother. In fact, things were never easy at all.
It was, Temari decided, a rather messy car. There were papers strewn about on the floor: some receipts, some scribbled on bits, some letters, and even some tax stuff. There were empty coffee cups in the cup holders and a couple pens rolling around. The most interesting thing, though, was the string hanging from the rearview mirror, which, if Temari was correct, held what looked like a Suna emblem to her. It was a symbol for strength – a charm much like one she had on her keychain.
Shikamaru slid in, pushing aside a few books that had been on the driver's seat.
"So why is he in jail?" Temari asked, redirecting her attention to the matter at hand.
Shikamaru began to pull out. "If it's the same as last time, then it's partly his fault and partly Naruto's. Some idiots have been picking fights with Naruto; not that Naruto is doing anything to dissuade them – quite the contrary. And in return, Gaara, seems to not understand friendship boundaries very well. While I suppose it is nice of him to protect and care about Naruto that much, it's also stupid." He sighed. "First time, it was all Gaara. Fire. Second, Naruto and Gaara got in a fight with a couple guys. This time it seems it's a combination of the two. I'm not sure on the specifics of this one just yet." Shikamaru grimaced, "Of all the people he had to be friends with, it had to be Naruto."
Temari pressed her lips shut, "Naruto's a nice guy." She wasn't sure if she felt the same anymore now that she knew the blonde was partially responsible for sticking her brother in jail. She also wasn't sure why she felt compelled to defend the boisterous blonde boy.
"He's a very nice guy." Shikamaru agreed, "He just has no self-control. Originally, I thought they would balance each other out. Apparently not."
"That's where you're wrong." Temari said slowly. "Gaara has no self-control when it comes to other people. Insult him and he can take it, though." Temari lifted up her legs to rest on the seat. "He's a nice guy." She closed her eyes and leant back comfortably. "Does Gaara talk to you a lot?"
"I suppose you could say that."
"Is he happy?" The words clotted in her mouth.
"He's very happy." He paused. "You know, just because I said that he doesn't talk to you doesn't mean he doesn't like you. It's just difficult for him." The car slowed to a stop. "He loves you."
Temari opened her eyes. "I never said I thought otherwise." She paused. "Jackass."
She felt slightly more content. Things had been getting far too calm and peaceful between them. Now with a swear word slurred in, Temari felt better and slightly appeased. Regardless of the fact that he was doing her a favor by taking her to Gaara, she still did not like him. Not one bit.
His lip quirked up, "Bitch."
Temari opened the car door and jumbled out clumsily. Without waiting for him, she headed to the police station.
