A/N: And it's done!
I have had this chapter in the works for around two weeks now. I got stuck after the first "section" because I didn't know how to get the meeting to flow. So I left it for a while so I could think about it. A week later I wrote it but then the whole bath scene, it was hard to write, so I sat on it for another week, planning it out. Then last night I wrote mostly all of it except for the last section (not the little dialogue at the end). I wrote that now, and even thought it was awkward, I actually love it. I think it flowed nicely, which is hard to manage.
Once again, no editor, I am not loved. I am looking for a Beta at the moment, because my friend can't do it. So, if anyone is interested, please PM me. ;)
Enjoy this chapter, I wrote it all for your enjoyment!
Royal Delivery
Chapter Four – Are You Sure About That?
Temari wasn't a maternal person. Probably never would be. She never saw herself with kids, a husband, and that house with the white picket fence. It wasn't even a possible option, in her opinion. That's why as she picked up the prince she felt an unfamiliar wave of this… almost nurturing feeling overcome her. She almost wanted to shiver; it felt so unnatural, so alien.
Temari carefully gathered up Kurono's limbs and body into her arms and picked him up carefully, almost afraid he would break. Her heart felt warm, and hurt. Such a feeling was only reserved for the weak, Temari constantly told herself. She held Kurono to her chest, somewhat afraid to look at him; she hated the feeling of her heart throbbing like that.
Shikamaru's presence raided her senses. "I can't believe it…he's still unconscious, it's already morning," Temari said, annoyed. Shikamaru rubbed his eyes before responding.
"More rather sleeping than unconscious, I think he went straight from unconsciousness to sleep," Shikamaru muttered. His voice was thick with sleep. Temari huffed. That thick voice annoyed her, because it sounded so attractive.
"Whatever it is, it stops now," she replied gruffly. "It's about time he wakes up."
"Don't do that Temari, let the kid sleep a bit longer. We have a long trip ahead of us, after all," Shikamaru muttered again. Temari wanted to snap at him and tell him to stop saying her name when his voice was like that. It annoyed her. It wasn't supposed to sound so good.
"Damn right we have a long trip. We are on the second day of our three day trip, Nara; we can't afford to delay our time anymore." Temari snapped.
"Last night I plotted out a shorter trip we can use in the Land of Fields, we have time to spare, so let him sleep a little longer, ok?" Shikamaru persuaded.
"He's probably faking it, just so he can laze around a little longer," Temari replied stubbornly. Shortly after Kurono let out a small snore.
"Or not," Shikamaru chuckled lightly. "C'mon Temari, put the kid down, stop being so troublesome." He drawled. All traces of thickness in his voice were gone now.
"Fine, fine." She sighed. Temari carefully laid the prince down in the grass under the shade of a small oak tree. "Since when do I give in?" Temari asked absently mindedly as she sat down next to the child.
"Not sure." Shikamaru did the same and sat down on the other side of the royal heir. "But, I sure as hell enjoy it."
"Oh, shut up." She smiled slightly.
Shikamaru was surprised to the see the sudden surge of colour in her eyes, an almost forest green but had hints of blue. On top of the colour, her eyes sparkled now. That colour, by far, was his favourite shade.
Temari leaned over the prince slightly. "You know… when he is sleeping like this… he doesn't seem so…"
"Troublesome?" Shikamaru offered with a smirk.
"I was going to say evil… but troublesome works." She suppressed the urge to move a lock of ebony hair from the boy's face. She couldn't help but smile, he sure looked peaceful. She had to admit, he was a handsome boy. He would be a heartbreaker for sure. "So cute… kind of makes me want to have one myself," Temari whispered happily.
Shikamaru almost did a double take. Temari, maybe wanted to have a kid? That alone was surprising enough, but for her to tell him that… is just wow. And she looked so… motherly… tender… beautiful. So un-Temari-like! "Me too," Shikamaru replied, trying to get over his surprised state. Temari smiled at him weakly.
Picking up on the awkward atmosphere, Temari picked herself up. "I'm gonna go and take down the tents, you stay here and tell me when 'his majesty' wakes up."
"Alright," Shikamaru agreed, nodding his head. Temari walked off towards the campsite.
Temari turned around to face him. "Oh, and Shikamaru?"
"Yeah?" Shikamaru asked lazily.
"No kids," she said harshly. She seemed a little bit flustered.
"No kids," Shikamaru repeated.
"Damn straight." Temari turned around and proudly walked back to camp. Shikamaru couldn't help but smile.
x. .X. .x
"Shishou, you cannot hold a meeting!" Sakura commanded as she hurried after the Hokage, trying to keep up with her. She grappled the clipboards holding medical charts in her hands, trying not to drop any. Her hair was messily tied up. The pink haired medic looked very tired. She had been up the whole night (regardless of Tsunade telling her to get some rest) perfecting a medical jutsu for a patient, who was close to her heart, at the hospital.
"Last time I checked, Sakura, I was the Hokage. Am I mistaken?" Tsunade hissed, not slowing down her fast pace.
"N-no. Of course not, Tsunade-sama, it's just that… It's just that you can't hold a meeting so suddenly."
"Suddenly? Sakura we have about 40 hours before the prince has to be back in his home country or else we are at war. We have to be quick about this!"
"I know. But please, be reasonable-" A clipboard escaped from her hands as she turned a sharp corner after Tsunade. "-shit. Shishou, I'm not saying we mustn't be quick about this. All I'm saying is that-" Another clipboard dropped out of her arms as Tsunade came to a sudden halt. "-damn. I'm saying; please don't call upon the council members now."
Tsunade grabbed the doorknob of the door in front of her and stopped to addess Sakura. "Oh, I won't…" She said sweetly. Too sweetly… "I won't because…" Tsunade turned the knob and swung open the door to the conference room. "They're already here!"
The remaining clipboards clattered onto the ground around Sakura's feet. Sakura stood sheepishly in the doorway with the entire conference room (around 40 people) staring at her judgmentally.
"Oh dear, you should really clean that up, Sakura," Tsunade commented with mock concern.
The Hokage entered confidently into the conference room leaving Sakura fumbling with the clipboards as she gathered them up again and hurried after her.
"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura whispered aghast when she caught up with her. "I can't believe you already called the meeting without concerning the elders about it!"
"Ugh, stop being like Shizune, Sakura. We don't need to concern those old bags with this." Tsunade made her way up to the head chair.
"But-"
"Enough! We are having this meeting and that's final!" Tsunade barked sharply. Sakura recoiled with fear. Tsunade had that vein in her forehead. Now that was always bad.
"Fine," Sakura replied moodily. She sat down in an available chair on Tsunade's right in a huff. She began muttering under her breath about Tsunade's bossiness and how unreasonable she was.
"Heh, she's not that bad," someone commented.
"Ah! Kiba!" Sakura exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"I was hoping you would tell me."
x. .X. .x
Shikamaru opened his eyes blearily. Light attacked his eyes as soon as he opened them and seemed to burn into his eyelids after he shut them. He slowly sat himself up and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.
"What happened?" he mumbled to himself. He surveyed his surroundings and realized, with horror, that he had fallen asleep. How long had he been out? He quickly looked beside him and found no prince.
The lazy shinobi hastily got up and dusted off his jounin vest. Not wasting any time he walked back to where they had camped out. "Temari?" he called, hoping he would find her quickly and that she wouldn't inflict any pain upon him for falling asleep. He listened carefully for a reply or for any movement but he heard nothing. "Damn, where the hell is she?"
Shikamaru gave up temporarily looking for her and went to look for the royal 'bounty' they had. Ino was still very much content with the peace and quiet and had decided to lay down in the grass for a rest. Shikamaru walked up to the carriage and opened up the door quickly only to find no one. "What the hell?" Shikamaru started cursing and slammed the door loudly with extreme force.
Anxiousness started bubbling up in his chest and suffocating his heart. He didn't have a good feeling about this. He had fallen asleep quite far away from the camp meaning he wouldn't have heard any intruders if they were in the campsite. And now both Temari and Kurono were gone. He told himself to calm down. Temari was a very powerful kunoichi; she was much stronger than many people he knew. She wouldn't go down without a fight.
He quickly searched the perimeter for them or any signs of battle and struggle. He spent around five minutes of searching. Then he stumbled upon a sight that made his heart skip a beat: Acres and acres of destroyed trees. Some trees were neatly chopped, others were shredded, and others were just transformed into shreds of wood. He was sure his jaw dropped at the destruction. He had a very good idea on what this was. It was no doubt Temari. Was this a battle scene, were they abducted? Shikamaru could feel the panic starting to rise.
"Shikamaru-san?"
Shikamaru abruptly turned to the right and he felt himself give a sigh of relief. Kurono looked at him from a few metres of distance. He sat in some thick green bushes kneeling into them. From beyond the bushes he could see a large waterfall that had been destroyed by, what Shikamaru guessed, was Temari's technique. The left side of the waterfall rock was slashed vigorously and had caved in creating a smaller waterfall. The overflow created a small pond-like body of water.
Shikamaru hurried over to Kurono and knelt down beside him. "You little brat, why are you over here? Why did you leave the campsite? Where is Temari?!" Shikamaru interrogated loudly. Suddenly a tiny hand clasped around Shikamaru's mouth.
"Ssh!" Kurono whispered and placed a finger at his lips. Shikamaru glared at him and pulled the child's hand from his mouth. He felt an unfamiliar anger grasp his chest which had resulted from his worry.
"Why are you-" Shikamaru started, but his voice died in his throat when something caught his eye. Hanging over a branch that was situated near the bushes was something that looked a lot like Temari's yukata. "Oh… hell no," Shikamaru whispered disbelievingly. He turned to the prince. "Where's Temari?" He asked dangerously.
The prince grinned devilishly and pointed out of the bushes in front of them, his finger pointing to the pond and waterfall. "See for yourself," he answered in a sing-song voice. Shikamaru reluctantly followed the direction his finger was pointing.
He so wished he hadn't.
Shikamaru now knew that Kurono was spying on Temari while she was bathing. Temari had waded into the pond so that the water had pooled around her waist. Her bare back was facing towards him; it showcased many scratches and slashes across her back which appeared to be very recent. She had her hands through her damp hair, her arms matted with scratches and cuts as well.
Shikamaru made a squeak-like sound and dove back into the bushes turning the opposite direction from Temari. There was no way he could keep looking. He knew that he was attracted to her, it was very apparent, and if he watched her he knew that it would change the way he viewed her and… completely change his view on their friendship. He didn't want that. It would make everything difficult; he didn't want things to get troublesome.
His chest was heaving and his heart was beating erratically. He had no doubt that his face must have been sporting a blush because Kurono snickered at him before continuing his private viewing. Shikamaru wanted to try and make sense of things, when he could figure things out he felt at peace. That's how he was, he could figure out anything.
He tried to get his mind on track, as to why she would even be there. Every time he tried to get his mind on track the image of her voluptuous curves would attack his mind. Her round hips and long slender back, the swell of her breast peeking through the space between her back and her arm, her lean lower back , the graceful curve of her neck and delicate shoulders, as well as her gorgeous face…
He shook his head violently trying to think clearly for a second. He could barely manage. Right now it felt like his head was filled with fog. (With the image of her perfect body showing through) It felt like he had blown a fuse. He needed to think right now, sort something out, and make him feel normal again.
He added in all the clues. The forest was utterly destroyed. It was a new form of destruction that he hadn't seen yet. Temari had been talking about a new jutsu she was working on. She was cut and scratched. Her element was wind which was known to cut. Slowly everything pieced together easily.
After Temari had taken down the tents at the campsite she must have come back to him, but he was sleeping. Shikamaru wasn't sure why she didn't wake him, maybe she was too tired to rant and wake at him? (This was the only thing that didn't make sense to him) Then she must have decided to train in the break while he slept. She went to the forest and perfected or continued working on her new jutsu. The noise must have woken up Kurono and he went over to watch or see what was happening. After training Temari must have been bloody and disheveled… so she must have gone to clean up at the waterfall and Kurono went to go spy on her!
Shikamaru removed his fingers from his 'thinking seal'. He never even knew he had made it. Quickly Shikamaru dove onto the prince with his eyes closed. He just couldn't look at Temari, it would ruin their friendship, and it would ruin the way he thought about her. Even though he wanted to, he couldn't look. The prince gave out a squeak of surprise as the older man crushed him into the ground.
"You little troublesome perverted brat, you're almost as bad as Konohamaru!" Shikamaru whispered harshly. Kurono squirmed violently, thrashing around.
"Who the heck is Konohamaru?!" Shikamaru ignored the question.
"You were spying on Temari while she was bathing!" Shikamaru spat.
"But I couldn't help it! She's just so beautiful! Our courtesans aren't as pretty as she is!" Kurono tried to reason. Shikamaru fought back the upcoming agreement. The royal heir suddenly slipped out of his grasp. "Just let me look a little longer!" He pulled himself up and looked at the waterfall again.
"No! No more-" Shikamaru tried to dive on him again.
"Hey… where did she go?" Kurono asked. Shikamaru opened his eyes quickly and scrambled up to Kurono's level.
"What do you mean where did she go?!" He hissed. Kurono was right, Temari was gone. He had a very bad feeling forming in his gut.
"Eh hem…" A female voice behind them said venomously. Both Shikamaru and Kurono turned around to see Temari standing above them looking ready to put them in their graves. Her obi was hastily tied suggesting she got dressed in a hurry. Her hair dripped slowly and her eyes flashed dark green. She crossed her arms in front of her. Shikamaru sensed immediate death in his future and jumped to his defense.
"I would just like to point out that I wasn't spying on you! He was!" He pointed quickly to the ten year old who was on his right. "I was trying to stop him!"
Temari glared at them both and tapped her foot before uncrossing her arms. Shikamaru knew what was coming next…
SLAP! SLAP!
x. .X. .x
"Kiba, what happened to your eye?" Sakura asked, slightly concerned.
"Oh, this?" Kiba placed his fingers gently on the bruise surrounding his eye. "This is courtesy of Godaime-sama. She decided later on, when she was in a bad mood, that some of this actually was my fault… and well, you get the point." He rubbed his cheek.
"Yeah, well, at least you aren't Naruto. Tsunade-sama broke his arm and bruised a hell of a lot more," Sakura commented.
"That's what I keep telling myself." Kiba grinned wolfishly before turning towards the table.
"I'm going straight to business," Tsunade declared. "As I'm sure you all know, yesterday morning at eight o'clock Hiroshi Kurono was apprehended and placed in the ANBU holding facility." Tsunade shuffled through some papers before continuing. "Hiroshi Kurono is the heir to the throne of the Geyser country and son to the King. The Geyser Country is one of the few countries left that use the monarchy system. So, naturally, the prince is of huge value to them and they are prepared to wage war on Konoha to get him back. Sakura, could you continue please?"
Sakura stood up slowly and shot her master a glare. She knew that Tsunade was going to make her do this. Good thing she always prepared ahead of time. Just in case Tsunade pulled something like this. Sakura cleared her throat and prepared to speak.
"Hai, Godaime. We are fully aware that a country like Geyser are no match for Konohagakure's shinobi and would easily fall if we went to war. Regardless of this fact they are still prepared to fight us," Sakura stated professionally. "This is less than ideal for us. The Geyser Country is very wealthy; they receive a lot of their money from tourism thanks to their huge geyser fields. Those same fields also produce water filled with medicinal properties that medical nin's use in antidotes. The water can only be found in that country, nowhere else. So, naturally, the water has a very high price, that also adds to the Country's wealth. Before this… incident… we were on good terms with Geyser and they regularly sent large amounts of Geyser water to us for medicinal uses. Of course that has stopped now. We depend on that water for a lot of our antidotes; a lot of people could die now, and in future, without it. "
Sakura let out a deep breath after her long explanation and sat down in her seat. There were several murmurings throughout the table before Tsunade spoke up.
"As you can see this is a bit of an issue." Tsunade stood up abruptly. "I would just like to point out this isn't a meeting to ask for advice. This is a meeting to inform, so Konoha isn't in the dark. Before anyone asks, yes we do know who apprehended Hiroshi Kurono, but we would like to keep his or her identity unknown for the time being, but we can assure you that we are talking with him or her and investigating every available angle to look at Kurono's detainment."
Tsunade gestured for everyone to stand.
"You will be informed when we have more information, you are dismissed."
x. .X. .x
The atmosphere was still awkward. At two in the afternoon Temari was still ticked off with both of the males. They walked silently along the path that was drawn in the map Sakura had given them. Kurono had decided to sit in the carriage to escape from the sun, claiming his royal skin was sensitive. So it left Temari and Shikamaru walking together, the air heavy with tension.
After following the path for good half hour they stopped at a fork in the road, the left path lead through the Land of Canyons, and the right road lead through the mountainous Land of Volcanoes. Shikamaru looked at the map in his hands. The left path was the only one drawn on the map. So, Sakura must have wanted them to take that path. He remembered a lesson he had had long ago about the Land of Canyons; it was a safe country with lots of security. It was also a very large country.
Shikamaru looked up and noticed Temari was no longer by his side but walking stubbornly down the right road, straight into the Land of Volcanoes.
"Temari! Where the hell are you going?" Shikamaru shouted after her.
"Where does it look like I'm going?" She snapped and continued walking. Shikamaru quickly grabbed Ino's reins and ran after Temari. He growled. Damn woman!
"Sakura wants us to use the left path; you can't just go wherever the hell you want to!" Shikamaru argued.
"That's where you're wrong; I can go wherever I want!" Temari spat. She kept her back on him, not wanting to face him.
Frustration and anger started bubbling up in his chest. "No, you can't. We have to follow orders! The Volcano Country is dangerous!" He shouted. Kurono poked his head out of the carriage window, wondering what the commotion was about.
"Does it look like I fucking care?" Temari asked venomously. "The path through the mountains will get us to Geyser twice as quickly."
"But it's twice as dangerous! We have to protect the prince, that's our first priority! I don't think the King will be satisfied if we bring him his son's corpse within the deadline!" Shikamaru argued. Kurono whimpered slightly. He didn't really appreciate them talking about his death. "You are so infuriating!" Temari didn't even reply. She just kept walking towards the volcanic country. "Are you even listening to me?!" Shikamaru grabbed her arm roughly and yanked her so she turned around. "Why do I even put up with you?!"
"I don't know! Why do you?!" Temari shouted in reply to his face. Her eyes seemed to be an intimidating black. "Go on, tell me what you think!"
"You are so fucking troublesome, you only care about yourself! You are stubborn and bossy! You don't care what you do as long as the job is done!" Shikamaru retaliated. He felt truly furious, the anger and frustration suffocating him.
Temari's eyes grew darker and she stepped closer to him, so that they stood face to face. "I only care about myself? I dare you to say that again." She whispered threateningly. Shikamaru stepped closer so that they were eye to eye in a standoff. The way they were right now reminded him of the standoff him and his father had years ago after Asuma's death, except they were closer than he had been with his father that time.
Temari's eyes were hard and sharp, filled with defiance and something he couldn't put his finger on. He had only seen it a few times. She was almost panting. Her chest was heaving in a fetching fashion. He could almost hear her growl. Something about her eyes was drawing him in. They were smoldering, with an almost… sexual nature. He felt like he was going to break into a sweat, but this fury he was feeling was not going to go away.
"Why are we still even friends?" Shikamaru asked venomously. They were so close that one more half step and their faces would be touching. Temari's eyes were growing darker.
"I dunno, why are we?" She retaliated. He breathes were ragged, presumably from fury.
"Well, maybe we shouldn't be friends anymore." Shikamaru replied harshly. They were in a standoff now, their eyes never leaving each other, each glaring harshly.
Temari's closed her eyes a fraction so she could glare even further. Her eyes were the darkest they had ever been. The air was thick, everything stood still, almost as if waiting to hear what Temari had to stay.
"Yeah, maybe we shouldn't."
Next thing he knew Temari's hand slipped behind his head and pushed him forward and their lips met. He didn't even hesitate in his response. He pulled her forward, hands held her curvaceous body. Before he knew it their tongues were dancing together. He was mesmerized by the way her lips pressed together and parted at all the right moments. Their lips almost clung together and Temari pressed herself harder into his chest. She laced her fingers behind his head and pulled him down, wanting him to kiss her deeper. Her lips were so soft, and her body was so unbelievable against his. They fit together like pieces in a puzzle.
Then suddenly, it all stopped.
Temari had pushed herself away abruptly; hand over her lips, her eyes wide with shock. What had she just done?! Kurono's jaw was hanging, his eyes as wide as hers. "I'm sorry." She choked out, then fled into the forest.
Shikamaru had never felt so confused in his life.
x. .X. .x
"Dude…"
"Yeah…"
"Dude…"
"I know…"
"No, dude, I mean I am so reporting you to my father for indecent public displays of affection in front of royalty."
Turns head.
Glare.
"…shut up."
A/N: Oh yes, pointing this out.
This chapter is around +1000 words longer than I usually write. I work according to the days, not how long I want it. So... this one came one long. Plus, I wanted to write something nice and "full" so you guys could enjoy because I felt guilty with the wait... even though I do not work to a deadline, it kills the passion, srsly.
Please, please, PLEASE review. The reviews make me smile, and the reviews where people tell you what they like and things like that really make you feel good about yourself and then you aim to please, which just makes the reading for you much better. I worked my little ass off for this, so a review would make everything awesome.
If you review, you are awesome.
Oh yes, ego rubbing FTW!
Ze-chan
