An Unknown Engagement
Chapter 2
Yumi watched as Gaara settled into the chair behind his desk. Temari and Kankurou took up positions on either side of him. Seeing them side by side made their resemblances much more obvious. "They really are related," she thought absently. Then she focused on the red - head seated in front of her who had taken off his hat and set it on the table.
"Since I am sure that you need time to rest, I will be brief. Your duties will be to teach at the Academy. I have not yet decided the length of your stay so for now it will be indefinite. You will be staying in my personal residence..." Yumi didn't hear the rest of his instructions because she was more than a little surprised at this turn of events.
When she was sure that Gaara was done, she said, "Stay in your home, Kazekage - sama? I cannot do that - I do not want to impose on you and your family. Honestly I would be happy with any arrangements that you make for me."
"If that is true, then you should be more than pleased with these. You will stay in my home - it is decided. You will not be imposing on myself or my family members." From Gaara's tone, Yumi could tell that he had made up his mind and that arguing would be futile.
So instead she simply nodded, "Of course Kazekage - sama. I am truly grateful for your hospitality. I am sure that your accommodations will be more than fitting for me."
"Good. You are now dismissed - my siblings will take you to your accommodations." Yumi bowed deeply before leaving the room, closing the door behind her. When she was gone, Gaara relaxed and turned to look at his siblings who had moved to stand in front of him.
"So,' Kankurou started, "she seems nice...she's pretty too."
"Thank you Kankurou - I appreciate that but you've only just met her. Temari, you've spent some time with her - what do you think of her?"
"I don't think she's good enough for you."
"Oh come on Temari,' Kankurou said, chuckling, 'We already know that! You don't think any girl's good enough for Gaara. However you don't seem to care who I date," he mumbled quietly.
Not quiet enough to fool Temari though, "Kankurou, don't start ok? This isn't about you. Besides, you don't want to get me started on those trashy girls you used to date."
"Used to? You're lucky - for a second there I thought you were talking about Michiko."
Temari scoffed, "Of course I wasn't talking about Michiko! You and Michiko have been friends for years - honestly, she's the only girl I would trust around you...wait! What do you mean I'm lucky? And what exactly were you gonna do if I - ?"
Gaara interrupted Temari by clearing his throat, "You two are getting off the topic. Since Saionji - san is waiting for you, you will go and escort her to the house now and after you've dropped her off, you'll come back and we'll continue this conversation."
Kankurou and Temari nodded and began making their way to the door. "And Temari?" She stopped and turned to look back at him while Kankurou froze with his hand on the door, "I want to know what she's actually like."
Temari sighed and nodded, "Hai, Kazekage - sama." Kankurou opened the door and the brother and sister stepped out, leaving their youngest sibling to mull over his first impressions of his future wife.
Yumi was delighted to find out that the Kazekage's residence was only a short walk from the Academy which Kankurou pointed out to her on their way. She almost missed it as she was too busy, staring in awe at the immense, dome - shaped buildings that Suna was made up of. "These buildings are magnificent! I've never seen anything quite like them."
Kankurou looked back at Yumi and chuckled as he saw how she gaped at the buildings in Sunagakure. 'It's a good thing that she likes the landscape. She's gonna be seeing it for a long time.'
They continued walking and Yumi realized that they were now in a residential area as the buildings were wider and smaller than the ones she had seen before. They stopped in front of a building that looked very similar to the others around it. Yumi studied it - there were no outward signs that it was the home of the Kazekage, although she was sure that all of the people of Suna were well acquainted with the fact. It's location was very different from the home that she resided in in Kumogakure - the Village Hidden in the Clouds with her father and elder brother - their residence was smack dab in the middle of the city because her father had insisted that he live there in order to be near his people and besides, if he lived a stone's throw from his office, he would be easy to find if any pressing matters were to arise.
Temari pulled out a key and unlocked the door and they entered - Yumi darting in last, ecstatic to escape the scorching heat of the desert sun so soon. Once inside, she looked around at the place that she would be calling home for the next few months. They stepped through the foyer into a wide, spacious living room that she liked instantly - it had a cozy feel and she knew she would end up spending a lot of time there (Coincidentally, the living room happens to be the room that Gaara spends the least amount of time in.) There was a stair-case leading upstairs from the living room.
By the staircase, Kankurou turned to her, "We've got three floors. First floor's the kitchen, living room and dining room. Second floor's my bedroom, a bathroom and the bedroom that used to be Temari's. ("Excuse me! Last I checked it still belonged to me!") Sorry, Goodness - I mean Temari's bedroom for when she's visiting. Right and the top floor has the room that you'll be staying in which is the guest bedroom, another bathroom and Gaara's room."
Yumi nearly fainted - not only was she staying in the same house as the Kazekage but she was gonna be sharing a floor with him too! Seeing the expression on Yumi's face, Kankurou chuckled, "Don't worry. He doesn't spend much time here anyway. He practically lives at his office."
"Paperwork, huh?"
Kankurou laughed and nodded, "You hit the nail on the head! Come on - we'll show you to your room and then we've got to leave you. Gaara needs to see us."
Yumi nodded and followed Temari who led the way up to the third floor with Kankurou bringing up the rear. As he passed the door to his room, Kankurou was sure that he could detect a faint chakra signature coming from within it. He stopped and frowned - that could only mean that someone was in there and that that someone was a ninja. He focused on the chakra signature trying to pinpoint it but his concentration was interrupted by Temari. "Kankurou? What's wrong?"
He looked up to see that both women had stopped midway on the stairs and were staring at him, questioningly.
Kankurou smiled reassuringly and shook his head, "Nothing. I just remembered that I forgot something in my room. You show Yumi - san to her room while I get it." Temari studied him for a second before shrugging and starting back up the stairs.
Kankurou waited until his sister and Yumi were out of sight before opening the door to his room cautiously, gripping his scrolls tightly in case he needed to use them. When the door was fully open and light flooded the room, he made out a figure on the bed. Kankurou squinted - that figure looked awfully familiar.
He stepped into the room quietly and began inching towards the bed. When he got to the side of it, he was surprised when he recognized the figure lying there. "Michiko?"
She didn't move however (probably because she was fast asleep) and he sat down next to her on the bed. He stared down at his long time friend and girlfriend of four years, smiling fondly. 'This is certainly a pleasant surprise. But what's she doing here? I thought she wouldn't be back from her mission for two more days.'
He rested a hand on her stomach and began making circular motions on it. After a few seconds, she fidgeted, then turned around to face him, opening her eyes to stare blearily at him. "Hey, she said quietly when she realized who it was.
"Hey. What are you doing here?"
"Huh? Oh my mission ended early and when I got back I was (yawn) so tired that I thought I was gonna pass out in the middle of the street. I knew I couldn't make it home so I opted to crash here. (This was punctuated by another yawn) You weren't home but I figured you wouldn't mind. After all coming home to find your girlfriend in your bed is like every guy's secret fantasy, right?" She laughed.
Kankurou smirked, "Give me some credit - my fantasies aren't that unoriginal. Usually they contain - "
"Kankurou!" She exclaimed as she sat up and mock - slapped him. "I don't want to know!"
"Hey. You brought it up - I'm just clarifying it for you."
Then he noticed a dark brown stain on his sheet where Michiko had been lying down. "Michiko, did you get injured on your mission?"
She looked up and her brows knit together, "Oh! We got attacked by bandits on the way back. I think one of the bandits cut me,' she answered as she rolled up her right sleeve. There was a gash across her shoulder - it wasn't very deep but it was encrusted with blood and Kankurou couldn't be sure but he thought that it was beginning to turn the lightest shade of green. (It wasn't really turning green but Kankurou convinced himself that that's what he was seeing.)
"Michiko - I told you you gotta stop ignoring your injuries like this. You're not a medic - you don't know if it could be serious," he said, the concern evident in his voice.
"Kankurou, relax!' she responded, laughing, 'This is not serious - it's just a cut. I'll clean it when I get home," she said as she got up from the bed and stretched again.
"It's cool - I'll do it for you. You need to learn to take better care of yourself."
Michiko smiled and leaned down, slipping her arms around his neck, "Well that's why I've got you! You always take care of me. I appreciate it. Thank you," she whispered before kissing him very lightly.
He grinned and slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her down on top of him, "I can think of another way you could thank me."
Before she could protest and push herself back up, he captured her lips in a kiss which was shaping up to be pretty enjoyable until they heard a cold, female voice say, "You forgot something, huh Kankurou?"
In a flash, Michiko was back on her feet and she was staring wide-eyed at the fellow kunoichi who was standing in the doorway, watching them coolly and fingering the deadly fan strapped to her back. "T - T - Temari - san! It's not what it looks like! Really!" She just barely managed to restrain herself from adding, 'Please don't kill me!'
Temari took a step towards Michiko and her eyes intensified into a glare and Michiko swore that she saw her life flash before her eyes (It never ceased to amaze Michiko how she could be totally unfazed by enemy shinobi but her boyfriend's sister always managed to terrify her), "What are you doing here Michiko?"
Michiko opened her mouth to answer but Kankurou interrupted her, "You don't have to explain anything to her."
"Kankurou,' Temari growled, turning her glare on her brother who,after having experienced it for years was completely unfazed, 'I am not talking to you. I will deal with you later. Now Michiko, what were you going to say?"
"Ano, Temari-san, please don't be upset. I just returned from a mission and I was so tired that I didn't think that I'd be able to make it to my house so I decided to take a nap here. Kankurou didn't even know I was here until just now."
Michiko hoped that that would be enough to placate the deadly woman in front of her but Temari continued to glare at her, "You could have slept on the couch. Amazing how you weren't too tired to drag yourself up a whole fight of stairs."
Michiko gulped and nodded, "I'm sorry Temari - san. Next time I'll sleep on the couch for sure."
Temari glared for a few seconds more before relaxing. "Honestly Michiko - chan, it's a testament to how much I trust you that I'm going to walk away now." Michiko let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding. "Kankurou, Gaara's waiting for us," then she turned and continued on her way down the stairs.
Kankurou and Michiko looked at each other and Kankurou sighed, "Sorry about that. I don't know why she has to act that way," he said, still glaring after his sister.
"Don't worry - I'd be the same way if I had a little brother. Look I'm gonna head home, ok? I'll see you later."
"Ok later. Make sure to clean that cut properly," he said, watching as she picked up her bag from the ground and slung it over her left shoulder.
"Yes Daddy," she said, kissing him quickly before walking out of his room and heading down the stairs. When Michiko reached the bottom of the stairs, Temari was standing by the door. She managed to make it past Temari and was halfway out the door when Temari called her. She turned around, "Yes Temari - san?"
Temari looked her up and down once before saying, "Next time, you can use my room. Do not let me catch you in my brother's room again. Girlfriend or not."
Michiko nodded firmly - glad to escape without feeling the wrath caused by Temari's protective big sister streak.
Kankurou came downstairs as Michiko turned the corner - he hadn't heard their conversation and so he glared at Temari. Temari noticed the fierce look and sighed, "Kankurou I'm only staying here for a month before I return to Konoha. So let's not fight. I don't want us to spend the month at each others' throats."
"You've got to apologize to Michiko."
Temari shrugged, "I already did." When Kankurou looked puzzled, she smirked and said, "It's true. Next time you see her, you can ask her yourself."
Kankurou shrugged, "Fine. Whatever - let's go." They took off and in five minutes, they were walking into Gaara's office. He looked up from his paperwork and glared at them but did not question the lateness. When Kankurou and Temari had taken seats in front of Gaara's desk, both men turned their gaze on their sister and said simultaneously, "So, what is she like?"
A/N: Ah - ha! Protective! Temari makes another appearance! Just for icecreamyluff! I hope you thought that this was funny - it was supposed to be. I hope that I didn't offend anyone's sensibilties - I didn't mean to. Rest assured - had Temari not interrupted nothing but a short, furious make - out session would have taken place. I am all for ABSTINENCE until marriage! And so is Michiko - chan. Btw, Michiko is my OC from my other fic Portrait. for anyone who read Portrait, yes I changed the spelling of Michicko's name to Michiko. That's actually the correct spelling - I hope it's not too weird for you. PLEASE REVIEW!!! I really want your input! Besides it would make me really happy and would motivate me to write faster. Thanks to all my reviewers, alerters and favouriters - I'm glad you like my story.