A/N: Welcome, new followers. I really appreciate you guys and I hope you are enjoying the story. Your satisfaction means so much to me. ^^;
*Reference to the Rock Lee spin off series. ;D
The bright sun beamed radiantly through the window, shining on Mimi's face, waking her from her slumber. She sat up, looking around. From the way the sun was shining, she must have slept through the morning. As she checked the time on the nighttable next to the bed she was on, her predilections were right. It was already fifteen minutes to noon.
"Shit," Mimi said to herself, getting up quickly. She hated it when she did that. But it's not like she had much to do anyway. She already had everything ready for the Hokage. So what was she to do now...with a bright day like this with such nice weather, she didn't want to spend it being a hermit locked up in her motel room. She wanted to leave those habits behind her in the Land of Snow.
A half an hour later, she was already freshened up and ready to go outside to check out what Konoha had to offer. The people here were really welcoming. There had to be something for her to do, and Kankuro probably left his room already; he was in the one next to hers.
Wandering aimlessly around Konoha for a while, she tossed the apple core she was holding in the trash, and sat down against a nearby tree, sitting in silence. This really was a beautiful village. The air was nice and fresh, but that would be obvious, being that there were so many trees around. The trees rustled softly, relaxing Mimi. Wait a second...why were the trees rustling? There was no wind right now.
Standing up to find the source of where it was coming from, she wandered off the road into the trees, following the noise as quietly and as stealthily as she can. As she tiptoed toward the sound, making sure to stay hidden within the trees, she saw a man climbing a nearby tree, digging in the bark as if looking for something. He had a long lab coat and huge goggles on as if he were some type of scientist. Mimi watched him for the next couple of minutes, as she observed that he was taking out some bugs that were residing inside the tree. Why was he doing that? Walking closer, exposing herself from the trees, she stood there, looking up at him as he was collecting the bugs and putting them in the jar that he had.
When he finished, he hopped down, and was startled to see Mimi standing there.
"Don't move!" The man warned, taking out some type of walky talky. "We have an intruder, female, black hair, under five feet, purple dress."
An intruder? What was he talking about? "Hey, I'm not an intruder!" Mimi said.
"Don't try to run away. We already have you surrounded." The man said seriously, his skin turning black...wait, that wasn't his skin turning black. There were just bugs crawling all over him!
"Ew!" Mimi said, backing away. "Don't touch me!"
But when she backed up, there was already someone behind her, and then she noticed that she was already surrounded by a bunch of scientists dressed similarly to the one she had been watching originally, with giant coats and huge glasses.
"How did you get in here? This is Aburame territory. You're not supposed to be here." The man asked, hand raised with an army of bugs coming out of his sleeve...well, that's what it looked like.
Mimi was unable to say anything. Looking at the bugs crawling out of him like that was creepy and disgusting. So much for feeling welcome.
"Answer the question or suffer the consequences!" One of the other scientists threatened.
"I don't know, I wasn't doing anything! I was just walking around and I got curious when I saw him taking bugs out the tree!" Mimi said, not wanting to imagine what they could do with those bugs...probably make them crawl all over her and then she would die of terror...or repulsion.
"How do we know you weren't trying to spy on us to find out about our research?" Another scientist asked.
"Why would I want to do that? I don't even know what you're researching." Mimi said.
"We're going to have to take her in for questioning." The guy she had been watching said.
"What?! But I didn't do anything!" Mimi exclaimed. "Don't touch me! You're all gross!"
Mimi tried to struggle to get away from them, not wanting any of the bugs on them to touch her. It was just her luck to get caught up in a situation like this...it was like those nightmares where you're in a room surrounded by a bunch of roaches and water bugs and you can't escape. Just thinking about it was making her cringe.
"She's resisting arrest!"
"You're all putting your nasty bugs on me, that's why! Get off of me!" Mimi said, moments away from getting a panic attack. These guys were absolutely gross, letting dirty bugs, probably with a bunch of diseases and parasites, crawl all over their body. She didn't want to contract anything that might be contagious, for one, and secondly, they must be crazy if they thought that she was going to stay still as they tried to hold her down with creepy crawlers everywhere. She was starting to reconsider ever coming back to Konoha after this. Just when she thought it was the perfect setting to be in the summer...she should have known it was too good to be true.
"Taking her in for questioning won't be necessary," Mimi heard a familiar voice say. When she turned to see who it was, she saw it was Shino.
"We had agreed to meet up here yesterday. She's with me," he continued. "Sorry for the misunderstanding. She must have wandered off while she was waiting for me. I had gotten pretty busy."
This caused all of the scientists to back off, and eventually they all left, apologizing.
Mimi took a deep breath, relieved, but extremely annoyed, nonetheless.
"Who were those scientists? Why are they all gross! Who do they think they are, putting their nasty bugs on me! They probably have all types of diseases..." Mimi ranted after they all left.
"You're welcome." Shino said, with a hint of annoyance in his voice after letting her let off steam, not appreciating such direct insults to the nature of his clan. He was used to hearing this kind of ignorance from outsiders. It never made him happy.
Mimi calmed down, realizing that even though she had just been interrogated, he just saved her ass. "...Thanks," Mimi said, feeling stupid. For them to not even question him, he must be highly respected. He didn't have to lie for her.
"Take it as my apology for embarrassing you the other day." Shino said. "And they aren't normal scientists. They're scientists that are shinobi for the Aburame clan. We are very protective of our research. Don't take their skepticism of you personally. It's because they have to be."
"Oh..." Mimi said. "So you're apart of this clan." She asked, feeling even more stupid for not realizing he himself was one of those shinobi, and she just accused him of having diseases and parasites. She should have made the connection.
"Yes." Shino said. "If you want, I can show you some stuff commonly known about our clan."
Mimi looked at him, unsure. If his clan was all about bugs, she wasn't certain if she would really be so excited about it.
"I have some bugs that you might actually be interested in. They won't touch you if I won't let them." Shino assured, seeing the look on her face.
Mimi stood quiet for a minute, trying to make a decision. She felt that she should at least give it a chance since he did her a favor. It can't be that bad. And he did say he won't let them touch her. "Okay," she finally said, with a hint of reluctance. "So, you can talk to bugs?"
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"Hey, have you seen Mimi? She wasn't in her room when I knocked." Kankuro asked Temari as she opened the door. He planned to show her around Konoha since her appointment with the Hokage wasn't until next week. He was supposed to keep an eye on her for suspicious behavior, after all, even though Temari had spilled to him why she had been acting weird after Gaara had assigned her to do this. He figured Temari would know because he could tell they were sharing secrets again. Apparently, Kanjo was actually right for once. It was something pretty insignificant.
"No, I haven't." Temari said, confused. "You mean you haven't seen her?"
"No, I thought she'd be with you since she wasn't in her room. It's not like she knows the place."
"Hn, that is weird. I'll help you look for her."
Kankuro hoped Mimi wasn't doing anything she wasn't supposed to. It would be really disappointing if it turned out that she was a traitor of some sort. He didn't like the thought of that. He highly doubted she was planning something malicious, but he hoped that she wouldn't be foolish enough to wander around Konoha on her own when she didn't know the area. That's asking for trouble.
"We can check the Hokage's building and the bathhouse. Those are the two places she's been." Temari said as they walked the streets of Konoha.
Mimi was nowhere to be seen near or around the Hokage's building, and Kankuro waited outside as Temari went to check in the bathhouse. As he stood casually waiting for her to return, he laid eyes on a familiar brown haired twerp that he vowed to knock out the next time he saw him. The moment the kid saw that Kankuro noticed him, he immediately started to run.
"Oh, no you don't! Come back here, you little runt!" Kankuro yelled, going after him.
Konohamaru dashed past the crowd of villagers that were walking by, almost bumping into one of them as he narrowly avoided crashing into an old lady's vegetable stand. If he was quick enough, he could make a clone to throw off Kankuro and get away, but unfortunately he wasn't that lucky. It didn't take long for Kankuro to catch up to him, and he grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, much to Konohamaru's dismay.
"So you think playing dirty pranks are funny, eh? How about I teach you a lesson, just like old times? You don't have your friends here to save you now."
"Get off of me!" Konohamaru said angrily, trying to escape Kankuro's grip. "I'm not a little kid anymore! I'm stronger now, and I'll fight you and win!"
Kankuro laughed at his boldness. "You wanna bet on that? You didn't seem so confident when you were running away from me."
"Leave me alone, you creep!" Konohamaru said, still struggling. "It was all Naruto's idea! Let me go!"
Kankuro smiled mischeviously as he contemplated scaring him a little as payback for that stupid joke of his by using Black Ant. But Konohamaru had something else up his sleeve.
"Please don't hurt me, Kankuro," he heard a feminine voice say in replacement of where Konohamaru was supposed to be.
Kankuro noticed a pair of round, hazel eyes staring up at him, and he immediately let go, annoyed. "Stop playing around. Do you really think I'm going to fall for that?"
"Fight me, then," the clone said.
"No. You're acting like an idiot. Change back first."
"Why do you want me to change back? Too chicken to hit me when I look like your little crush?"
"Stop talking out your ass, kid. I don't have a crush."
"Kankuro!" He heard a familiar, annoying, bossy voice say. "What on earth are you doing? Oh, there she is! You look different, Mimi."
"That's not Mimi," Kankuro said.
"Then who is it?" Temari asked, Konohamaru turning back into his regular self, confusing Temari. "What were the both of you doing?"
"I was trying to teach this twerp a lesson before he started fooling around," Kankuro said, annoyed.
"You started it!" Konohamaru exclaimed.
"That was years ago, kid. Get over it."
"Are you two serious right now?" Temari asked rhetorically. "Stop being such a child, Kankuro. He barely looks past fifteen. I thought you grew out of that."
"He's just mad because I played a prank on him yesterday and he fell for it." Konohamaru teased.
"Shut up," Kankuro said to Konohamaru. He didn't need Temari knowing about this. "Let's go, Temari." He said, gesturing her to leave.
"Wait, what prank yesterday?" Temari asked, having an idea where this was going, suspecting this was related to the way she had found him.
"Oh, you mean he didn't tell you?" Konohamaru said to Temari, smiling mischeviously.
"Shut the hell up, kid." Kankuro threatened. "Let's get out of here, Temari. Don't listen to what that twerp says."
"No, go on," Temari said to Konohamaru, smirking, noticing her brother getting red.
"'Shut the hell up?'" Konohamaru mocked before continuing. "Your brother here got all bent out of shape when I showed him a sexy jutsu specially made for him. I don't know why you're trying to hide it. Naruto told everyone already." He taunted. "I'm quite proud of myself. Naruto said I might have finally surpassed him!"
Kankuro wanted to strangle this stupid kid. He knew he should've gotten rid of him years ago.
Temari laughed. It all makes sense now. "Is that why I found you like that on the ground yesterday?"
If Kankuro could hide behind his hood any more than he usually does, it was right now. "Can we just go?" He said. The last thing he wanted was for him to be reminded of what happened yesterday, and he especially didn't want Temari to know, but now it was too late. She was going to make fun of him for ages. It's bad enough he couldn't get the image out of his head last night.
"So you mean you weren't waiting around the bathhouse to see the short girl naked?" Konohamaru continued, teasing him more.
This kid was pissing him the hell off, trying to make him look like something he wasn't. If he wanted to see naked girls, he sure as hell didn't need to peep in the bathhouse like some creep. Losing his patience, he clenched his fist, attempting to hit Konohamaru. "I would never do that, you stupid-"
"Wait a second," Temari said, pulling Kankuro back before he was able to grab Konohamaru again. "So she was around here?"
"Yeah, she was walking around here about an hour ago. I thought she was going to go to the bathhouse like the other girls but she went that way instead," Konohamaru said, pointing in the direction of the Hyuuga territory.
"What would she be doing going over there? She doesn't know anyone from there." Temari pondered. "Let's go. Maybe she wanted to talk to Naruto."
"Consider yourself lucky this time," Kankuro said to Konohamaru.
"Kankuro, stop threatening him. You're not going to do anything," Temari said, grabbing his arm.
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"No, Naruto's not here. Hinata's mad at him right now." Hanabi said apathetically after answering the door. "Come inside. I can ask Hinata if she knows anything."
Temari and Kankuro looked at each other uncomfortably as they sat and waited. They both knew what the other was thinking. They wouldn't expect that type of behavior from Hinata. Kankuro presumed that maybe it was because she was pregnant and hormonal. If that was the case, he didn't even want to think about how Temari is going to end up. Kankuro mentally concluded that Shikamaru is a masochist. Kankuro has to deal with Temari because she's his sister. Shikamaru chooses to deal with her. He would never choose to deal with a woman who acted like Temari. But he wouldn't go for someone like Hinata either; she was too much of a pushover. He preferred a girl who's not too needy, fairly independent, but shut the hell up when he wanted them to. But that was too good to be true. At this point he was used to not getting what he wanted.
A couple of minutes later, Hinata came with Kiba accompanying her. What the hell was he doing here? Probably trying to be a white knight. He would be that pathetic.
"I'm afraid I don't know who you're talking about," Hinata said after being questioned. "Are you sure she was around here? If you ask around, there could have been someone else who could have seen her."
"I can help you find her, too. I'll be able to track her by her scent if she's been around here." Kiba added.
"We don't need your help." Kankuro said bluntly.
"That's actually a good idea." Temari said ignoring her brother's comment. "I hope she isn't doing anything that would get her in trouble. Gaara wouldn't be too happy about that."
But searching around the Hyuga territory proved to be futile. They searched everywhere, and no one had seen her. Giving up, they walked to the exit to leave the Hyuga clan's territory, left at a dead end.
"Wait, I'm catching her scent," Kiba said as they got closer to the exit, following it toward a small fruit stand that was placed near the entrance of the Hyuga territory. "She must have walked past the Hyuga clan territory, but didn't really go inside."
Temari and Kankuro followed Kiba, until they were led to a small road where there were many trees starting to reappear.
"You sure that nose of yours is working right? This is leading to the Aburame Clan's territory. No one goes in here." Kankuro said.
"Yeah, she's here, I'm sure of it."
What the hell would she be doing in the Aburame Clan's territory? This didn't sound good at all. If she was here, then she had to have gotten herself into trouble.
"Ugh, all this walking made me so hungry..." Temari said after her stomach growled loudly. "I want some pickles dipped in peanut butter and melted chocolate...maybe with some kelp on the side."
"What?" Kankuro said, looking at her with a repulsed look. "That sounds disgusting."
"It's the cravings." Temari said. "I'm gonna go get something to eat. You can handle this on your own."
Temari left, leaving to return back to the main streets of Konoha.
There were two shinobi at the entrance of the Aburame Clan's territory, one of them urging them to follow him after informing what they were there for. They were led to a small building, where Kankuro heard Shino talking to someone else.
"This one eats the nectar and leaves from flowers. Its wings can change color depending on its surroundings." Shino said, putting a rainbow colored cloth behind it.
"Oh, that's cool," Mimi said as she saw it change its color before her eyes. She started to take random items, putting it next to the bug to see it change color again.
Kankuro groaned in frustration. He just wasted an hour of his life looking for this midget. If he knew she was here with Shino, he wouldn't have worried so much. But now he was wondering how she got here. Of all the places in Konoha, this would probably be one of the last places she would want to go to, and she was upset with Shino the last time they were all together. She wasn't even supposed to be here. Why would she be hanging out with him? Something wasn't adding up. He hoped she didn't do what he thought she did.
"How did she end up here?" Kankuro asked Shino seriously.
"I'm not sure," Shino said. "She must have slipped through wandering around. The Hokage's been sending people from our clan on so many missions lately. Our security hasn't been as tight because of it. Word of this can't spread. If it goes around that a civilian was able to get in here, the information can get in the wrong hands."
Kankuro nodded, understanding, and visibly upset that she did do what he thought she did. He figured she knew better than to do something as stupid as wander around in one of the most well known ninja villages with well guarded secrets on her own.
As Shino was explaining the details of the situation to Kankuro, Kiba looked around the room full of different bugs before wandering toward Mimi, who was looking at one of the bugs intently.
"I see you've gotten over your bug phobia," He told her.
"Well, not really," Mimi said, looking at the bug. "This one isn't big and creepy looking like the one that Shino showed me the last time."
"If you don't like bugs, then why are you in the Aburame Clan's territory?"
"I came in here by accident." Mimi said. "Shino found me and brought me here. How did you guys find me anyway?"
"I tracked your scent." Kiba said matter-of-factly.
"You can do that?" Mimi asked, eyes widening inquisitively. "That's so cool. Do all people smell different?"
"Yeah," Kiba said.
"How does Shino smell?" Mimi asked, curious.
"Like...bugs." Kiba said, as if stating the obvious.
"I didn't know bugs had a smell." Mimi said, pondering what they could possibly smell like. People from his clan must have a good sense of smell like the dogs. "...What about Kankuro?"
"Hm..." Kiba said, trying to describe his scent into words. "Like paint, sand, and wood."
"Could you smell yourself?" Mimi asked.
Kiba laughed at that question. "Well, I guess so, if I put conscious awareness to it...but I don't see the need to do that."
"How do I smell?"
"Let me see..." Kiba said, leaning down to sniff her.
Shino looked at Kankuro, contemplating. "I might have to inform the Hokage of this incident. But I'm not sure if that'll help; he has enough on his plate already. Mission requests are going to keep coming in despite security measures that have to be taken."
"Maybe you should talk to the leader of your clan first. He'll probably think up alternative options before reporting it to the Hokage directly." Kankuro suggested.
Shino nodded in agreement.
"Kiba, stop," Mimi laughed as she felt him sniffing her neck.
Kankuro and Shino looked toward them, their conversation interrupted by the laughter.
"I should get going," Kankuro said to Shino before walking to Kiba. "Hey, I didn't know you needed to get that close to someone to get their scent, especially since you didn't seem to have a problem finding her beforehand," he said sarcastically, pulling Kiba away from Mimi, causing Kiba to snicker.
"Let's go," Kankuro said to Mimi, taking her by her arm.
"Hey, wait a second!" Mimi said as she was being rushed out of the Aburame Clan's territory by Kankuro. She at least wanted to thank Shino again before she left.
"You're terrible, Kiba." Shino said after they left, more out of amusement than criticism. "You should just leave Mimi alone."
"What'd I do?" Kiba replied, smirking.
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Kankuro finally let go of her arm once they were some distance away from the territory, back on the dirt path, previously ignoring her demands when she kept insisting to let her go.
"What the hell is your problem?" Mimi asked, frustrated.
"What the hell is my problem?" Kankuro said angrily, mad at the fact that she had the audacity to ask him that. "What's your problem? Are you fucking crazy?! Where's your common sense? Wandering off in a ninja village you know nothing about by yourself is idiotic. I wouldn't have expected that level of stupidity from you."
"Well, I'm fine." Mimi mumbled, a bit taken aback at the tone in his voice. He's never raised his voice at her like that.
"Fine? You resisted arrest from the Aburame Clan! You could have gotten in serious trouble with the Hokage! What would you have done if Shino wasn't there?"
Mimi looked away towards the ground, arms crossed. He had a point. Damnit, Shino, why'd you have to tell him all of that?
"You didn't even have the sense to tell anyone where you went off to!"
"Stop yelling at me..." Mimi said meekly, pouting. "I woke up late so I thought you left your room."
"Do you know the type of trouble we would have gotten in if something happened?" Kankuro said angrily. "I had to get that mutt to help me look for you."
Mimi stared at her feet. His temper was worse than Temari's. And he had that angry look again.
"I'm sorry, okay? I know I did something wrong-"
"You did something extremely stupid, actually."
"No need to rub it in my face!" Mimi said, clenching her fists. Now he was just trying to belittle her because he wanted to be a douchebag.
Kankuro had to laugh at her getting mad. She was less threatening than a seven year old Konohamaru.
"Stop laughing at me!" Mimi said angrily.
"What are you gonna do? Wipe me to the floor with your accounting prowess?" He said, amused. "You're going to have to get a ladder, first."
"Oh, so you think you're all high and mighty because you know how to fight?" Mimi replied, ignoring the insult about her height.
"Yes, actually. Now shut up." He said curtly before continuing to walk ahead.
She couldn't even confabulate a reply to that statement. Mimi couldn't believe someone could be so obnoxiously arrogant and rude. Who did he think he was to just tell her to shut up like that? Then again, it was Kankuro. He was worse than Sai. At least Sai tried to be nice.
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Mimi sighed, bored as she was sprawled across the bed in her motel room, reading old romance novels she brought with her that Sutera recommended, listening to smooth jazz with low volume on the radio to pass the time. It was already getting dark, and as fun as her day was before somebody ruined it, the rest was wasted in her room because she'd rather be stuck in here than get yelled at by a certain mean person dressed in black. If she was going to have someone show her around, it wasn't going to be him unless he apologized, and that stubborn asshole was never going to do that.
Letting out a deep breath, she scanned the pages of the old paperback, immersing herself in the story. Just as she was about to read the good part of her book, there was a knock on her door.
"What do you want?" Mimi asked as she cracked the door open slightly.
"Still not over your hissy fit?" Kankuro joked.
Mimi frowned. The jerk didn't even care.
"I got you something to eat." He said to her.
"I'm not hungry." Mimi said sharply. Honestly, though, she didn't realize how hungry she was until she saw the food in his hand. All she ate was an apple today, and that was hours ago.
"Stop lying. You've been locked up in there all day."
Mimi slowly opened the door, letting him in. She'll take this as his way of apologizing. "Thank you."
"Whatever," he said, sitting on the edge of her bed, casually picking up the book that she had been reading. "You actually read this crap?"
Mimi couldn't help but crack a smile. As much of a jerk as he can be at times, there was something about it that made her laugh. Deep down, he meant well.
"What's so bad about it? It's just a romance novel." Mimi said, sitting next to him, taking a bite of the food he got her. "What can I say, I'm a sucker for happy endings."
"You don't seem like the type." Kankuro commented.
Mimi shrugged.
"...But I guess it shouldn't surprise me that much with the way you were laughing last night." He snidely added after a moment of silence.
Mimi looked up at him, confused. "What are you talking about?" She asked with her mouth full.
"You mean you don't remember? I could hear you from my room." He teased. "You were talking in your sleep."
"You're such a liar, I don't talk in my-" Mimi replied quickly before her eyes widened as the memory hit her, almost choking on the food she had in her mouth. He was right. She had completely forgotten about the dream she had last night...she was laying in her bed, and a guy had snuck in her room and started to put his hands up her shirt. Her heart started to race as she came to the realization that someone else had heard her, and Kankuro of all people. This was more embarrassing than the incident that happened when they were on their way here...ugh, it was probably that incident that triggered the stupid dream in the first place. She hadn't had a dream like that in ages. She blushed as she started to recall the details. No, she could not admit to this, and she especially can't admit that she liked it.
Kankuro smirked. It was so easy to push her buttons. She wasn't as innocent as she tried to put herself out to be.
"I don't remember." Mimi said with the straightest face she could possibly make.
"Yeah right. You were dreaming about that mutt, weren't you?" He questioned.
"No," Mimi said, annoyed at his boldness to ask something like that so straightforwardly. "Why would you think that?"
"It wouldn't shock me with the way you were letting him touch you earlier."
Is this guy serious right now? What was he implying, that she was promiscuous or something?
"You're taking it out of proportion. He wasn't even touching me." She said defensively.
"That's what you think." He said rudely. "If it wasn't him, then who was it?" Kankuro prodded.
"None of your business." Mimi said stubbornly. There's no way in hell she would ever tell him who she was dreaming about. That would just be stupid, being that she was staring right at the person. She didn't even want to imagine his reaction if he were to ever find out.
"Probably was that stupid mutt." He mumbled.
"You shouldn't call Kiba a mutt, that's not nice," Mimi said. "And why do you even care?"
"Because you didn't come here to look for your next boytoy." He sneered.
"Look at the pot calling the kettle black," Mimi replied. "This is coming from the guy who has a reputation of bringing a bunch of girls home from his missions."
Kankuro smirked. "You shouldn't believe everything you hear. People exaggerate."
Mimi gave him a flat look. "Please."
"Okay, I brought a girl here and there for a couple of nights." Kankuro admitted after seeing the skeptical look on her face. "Gaara just got mad when I brought a whole group of them to Suna one time because he thought I was getting out of hand. In my defense, I almost died in that mission; I wanted to celebrate. Gaara's such a prude, though. He said I wasn't allowed to bring girls anymore."
"You're really something, you know that?" Mimi said, laughing.
"Yeah, I know. Because I didn't listen to him and brought you. Got me in a bunch of trouble. He was so pissed."
Mimi looked down at her feet, unsure what he meant by that.
"But it was worth it. You actually have a brain."
Mimi smiled. That was one of the nicest things someone has told her. "Aw, that's sweet. You do have a heart," she said, putting her hand on his knee as a friendly gesture, resting her head on his shoulder. She felt him stiffen, and she quickly backed away afterward, feeling a bit guilty. She didn't mean to make him feel uncomfortable.
Kankuro honestly didn't know how to react when she touched him. It kind of caught him off guard, and made him realize that he doesn't really receive that type of affection from people, not that he really liked to. He was never really the type to be that way, but he was internally disappointed when she backed away. It felt nice.
"Hey, if you're done eating that, I can still show you around." He told her after he saw her shift away from him. "There are some nice places that are still open at night."
"Okay," Mimi said.
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The next day, Mimi was sitting outside by a lone tree in an open field with Kankuro, enjoying the light breeze that was brushing past them in the summer air. Konoha had a very interesting and different night life that one wouldn't suspect at all. It was very...unexpected, to say the least.
"I had a great time last night," Mimi commented.
Kankuro nodded, an extremely uninterested look on his face.
"What is up with you? Shouldn't this nice weather put you in a good mood?" Mimi asked him, letting her hair fly around with the breeze.
"I guess. I'd rather be doing something else," he said, sitting with his back against a tree.
"Like what? We've been up almost the whole night. You should give yourself a break."
"For what? This is boring," he said, nonchalantly moving his puppet with strings of chakra. "I haven't had a good fight in a while."
Mimi scooted away from the puppet slightly, eyeing it skeptically. She's seen him use his puppets before, but never this close. She found the puppet cool, but it looked...creepy. And it made weird clicking sounds like if it's coming straight out of those horror movies with haunted dolls. She jumped as it grabbed her hand unexpectedly, Kankuro laughing at her.
"That's not funny," Mimi said, pouting.
"You're such a wimp. You're scared of Crow? He's not going to do anything to you if I don't let him."
"Well he's creepy." Mimi said defensively. "I don't know why anyone would want to fight you when you have that thing anyway. I know I wouldn't."
"I don't know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment," Kankuro said before hearing a familiar bark in the distance. "Oh, great."
"It's Akamaru!" Mimi said as the dog approached them. "Where were you yesterday?" She asked, petting him.
Mimi was right. He didn't notice that Akamaru wasn't with Kiba yesterday. He found that a bit odd. The mutt and his dog were usually inseparable. He hoped that Kiba wasn't around, but he groaned in disappointment as he saw him walking toward them a short distance away. Kiba was getting really fucking annoying, and was tempted to find somewhere else to go when he tried to start a conversation with them.
"I was on my way to meet up with Shino, but Akamaru seems to have spotted you." Kiba said. "I hope he's not bothering you."
"Akamaru would never bother me. I love Akamaru," Mimi said, hugging the dog.
"Want to come with me?" Kiba asked. "Me and Shino are just going to hang out and work on a new ninjutsu together."
"Sure." Mimi said, interested. "Are you going to be working with Naruto?"
"No, he was put to work with us for the mission we just came from, but he's not on our team."
"Oh," Mimi said, a bit disappointed. It would have been cool to see his abilities.
Kankuro scoffed. She doesn't like his puppet, but she likes that damn dog. "Crow will burn that stupid dog in less than a second." He commented.
"Hey, watch your mouth! Akamaru isn't stupid! He'll tear that ugly puppet of yours into shreds!" Kiba said, offended.
"You sure about that? I'd like to see him try." Kankuro said smugly.
"Are you trying to start a fight with me? If you think you'll be able to beat me and Akamaru, you're wrong! I'll beat you in no time!"
"Hn, I thought you'd never ask." Kankuro said, standing up. "I find it funny when people underestimate me. How about you stop barking and show me what you've got, you stupid mutt."
"Kankuro, why are you saying mean things like that? You shouldn't start fights with people," Mimi said, though she was stuck in between not wanting to see a fight, but curious about what they can both do. She never got to see Kiba's abilities. Who would win?
"No, he wants to start a fight, then we'll fight," Kiba said. "You've been pissing me the hell off for a while now. It's about time I shut you up." He said to Kankuro.
"Shut me up? Please," Kankuro said, laughing. "Get ready to take that dumb dog of yours to the vet. I haven't had a good fight in a while, and I don't feel like playing nice."
Mimi looked up at the both of them, seeing the look on their faces. Okay, maybe seeing them fight won't be the best thing right now. And she did not want to see Akamaru get hurt over something this trivial. Akamaru started to get up to walk next to Kiba, but Mimi wrapped her arms around him to stop him. He shook her off fairly easily, getting into a fighting stance next to Kiba.
"Kankuro, please don't hurt Akamaru," she said, standing in front of him when her attempts to keep Akamaru away failed.
Kankuro looked down at her, annoyed at her request. He was getting sick and tired of her trying to stop him from whooping someone's ass when they deserved it.
"Why do you always have to make things so difficult? Get out of my way," he told her, gently pushing her aside.
"No, stop!" Mimi said worriedly, trying to pull him away.
Kankuro sighed impatiently. "Get off of me!"
"No!"
"Ugh, fine, I won't hurt the damn dog. I can't say the same for the mutt. Now let me at him!" Kankuro said, getting out of Mimi's grip effortlessly.
"Who do you think you're calling a mutt? Take that back!" Kiba yelled irately before telling Akamaru to attack.
"Stop it the both of you! This is ridiculous!" Mimi said as they started an admittedly very cool looking fight.
Mimi had a worried look as they kept trying to attack each other. She could barely process what was going on, but she heard Kankuro yell out in pain as she saw Akamaru bite his leg. The fight started to attract a small crowd of other villagers, standing in awe. Eventually the villagers started to put bets on Kiba and Kankuro as the fight progressed. This was getting out of hand. She had to stop this before someone got severely hurt.
"Guys, stop!" Mimi called.
"Stop being such a party pooper, lady," a young male villager that was standing near her said. "I'm putting bets on the Inuzuka."
"Yeah! Kick his ass, Kiba!" Mimi heard someone else say, who was agreeing with the guy who was talking to her. She turned to see that it was the young boy who was at the gates of the village the day before talking to Naruto. Maybe he can do something.
"Hey, can't you do something? Make them stop!" She told him.
"No way! It's about time that sand village jerk learns his lesson! I hope he loses. Then he'll finally learn to stop picking on people smaller than him."
"The fight looks pretty even so far." A boy with glasses about the same age said to him.
"Don't jinx it, Udon!"
"What do you mean he was picking on people smaller than him? Ugh, this is hopeless," Mimi said, sighing. Kankuro isn't really helping his case with the reputation he's put out.
Mimi had to look around for people who looked like shinobi. They'll be able to stop it. Leaving the vicinity of the fight temporarily, she looked around, laying her eyes on a female kunoichi with two buns. She was with a guy dressed in green. He looked pretty fit. They'll definitely be able to help. She quickly rushed toward them, because they were about to turn a corner.
"Hey, wait! Please help!" Mimi called to them.
The guy in green approached her so quickly her brain barely registered when he even turned around when he heard her.
"Did I hear someone call for my help? I cannot turn this down!" The male said.
Such enthusiasm, Mimi thought. Well, she guessed she lucked out on getting help from the perfect person.
"What's going on?" The female kunoichi said, finally catching up to him. "We have to go to the Hokage's office right now, Lee. He assigned us a mission. We don't have time to be sidetracked!"
"There is a villager in need! It is our duty to handle this matter!"
The kunoichi sighed, not even trying to bother to argue with him.
"I don't know what to do, there's a fight going on and I'm afraid someone will get hurt! I figured you guys can use some type of ninjutsu to stop it. It's starting to look pretty dangerous." Mimi told them.
"I do not use ninjutsu," the male in green said. "But I assure you I can stop this!"
Mimi took back her thought on her lucking out. "So you're not a ninja?"
"I am!"
Mimi looked confused. "You're a ninja who doesn't use ninjutsu?"
"Yes," the woman with the two buns said. "Just take us to the fight."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Kiba and Kankuro? Why would these two guys be fighting?" The kunoichi said, confused.
"You know them?" Mimi asked. It seemed everyone knew each other at this point. Maybe being a shinobi was like working in the office in the same profession where everyone knew everyone else.
"Tenten, there is such YOUTH!" The male that the kunoichi called Lee said, eyes sparkling. "They are sparring with all the effort they can! Guy sensei will be proud of their work!"
"They're not sparring! They're really trying to hurt each other!" Mimi told him as she saw fire come from God knows where, burning Kiba's leg. Akamaru was knocked out nearby. She hoped he was okay. There was also a broken puppet on the ground next to Akamaru.
The guy in green wasn't listening to Mimi though. He was starting to cheer on with the crowd, now wearing a cheerleading outfit. Besides the fact that it looked more disturbing than his already cheesy looking green outfit because he was wearing a skirt that didn't flatter him at all, she pondered when he even took time between her talking to Tenten and looking back at him to change into it in the first place. Tenten smacked him back to his senses, Mimi questioning the mental state of her comrade.
"We didn't come to cheer them on! Stop being foolish!" Tenten told him.
"We should not interfere with their rivalry! This will only make them stronger. Oh, what I would give to spar with my rival again!" He said, his eyes watering.
"Ugh, you're useless," Tenten said, putting her palm to her forehead in disappointment. "I'll handle this."
In an instant, the kunoichi took out her scrolls, two giant metal balls being thrown in the direction of Kankuro and Kiba.
"STOP IT, YOU IDIOTS!" She yelled, the weapons hitting the both of them, stopping the fight instantly as they fell to the ground, stunned.
"That looked painful," Mimi said, worried. Well, at least it worked. "Kankuro, are you okay?" She asked, jogging toward him.
Kankuro sat up, confused. "What the hell was that?"
"That was me," Tenten said, approaching them. "What the hell is wrong with you two?"
"What the hell is wrong with him?" Kankuro asked Tenten, eyeing Lee questionably. He had resumed dancing in that unsightly cheerleading outfit. Kankuro wished he could unsee that.
"I ask myself that question every day..." Tenten replied, more to herself than to Kankuro.
"This guy's an asshole, that's what's wrong," Kiba commented, coming to his senses after the unexpected attack.
"And? Since when was this news to anyone?" She said to Kiba plainly. "Guys can be so immature sometimes. Alright everyone, there's nothing to see here!" She said to the crowd, and they all dispersed, disappointed.
"Long time no see, Boob Hammer," Kankuro said to Tenten after everything calmed down, causing him to receive a very angered response with a punch to the head.
"Don't call me Boob Hammer! Do you know how long it took for everyone to stop calling me that?!"* (Refer back to A/N)
"Ow..."
Mimi looked at Kankuro sympathetically, rubbing the part of his head where Tenten hit him. Mimi was starting to think that his record with people was worse than Sai's.
"See? I told you he's an asshole." Kiba commented.
"Oh, shut the hell up, mutt, before I finish you off." Kankuro replied.
"You weren't even close to finishing me off!"
"The both of you look pretty beat up, to be honest," Tenten said.
"Psh, beat up? I'm fine." Kiba said confidently, standing up, wincing slightly.
Mimi shook her head. She couldn't believe these two hotheads.
"There you are, Kiba. What have you been doing? I've been waiting for you." Shino said, appearing from...Mimi could never tell where the heck he comes from. Sometimes it seems like he just appears out of nowhere.
"They were practicing the philosophy of youth and hard work!" Lee said joyously, now back in his green jumpsuit.
"No they weren't. They were about to rip each other's heads off." Tenten corrected.
Shino sighed as if he anticipated this was going to happen sooner or later. "I knew I should have come to meet up with you instead. Let's go," he said to Kiba, taking Akamaru, who was sleeping a short distance away. They both walked off, Kiba limping a little.
"What happened to Akamaru?" Mimi asked. "Did he get hurt?"
"No. He'll wake up in a couple of hours." Kankuro said.
"Well, I don't have time for this. Come on, Lee. We have a mission to go on." Tenten said, walking off, with Lee following quickly.
"That Lee guy is a bit off, don't you think?" Mimi asked Kankuro after they left. "He said he doesn't even know ninjutsu."
"I wouldn't underestimate him." Kankuro said, standing up. He had to give Lee some type of credit for being the first person to ever hit Gaara in a fight. He had put up a better fight than he expected that day. He knew he would still lose, though.
"Let me help you-"
"I don't need your help, midget."
"Rude, much?" Mimi said, walking with him.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Back in the motel room, Kankuro just finished bandaging a wound that was on his leg. He was full of bruises everywhere, including a huge one on his face.
"Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Mimi asked, gently brushing her hand over the bruise.
"Nah, this is nothing." Kankuro said.
"I hope you're proud of yourself," Mimi said flatly as Kankuro was looking at multiple bites on his forearm. "Those bites look really bad."
"The weird thing is I can't tell if it was from the dog or the mutt." Kankuro said.
Mimi sighed, applying healing ointment on the wounds. "That should be the last thing you're worried about."
"I've gotten worse injuries than this. It hurt more when Tenten punched me."
Mimi touched his head, feeling a small bump through his hat. It did look painful when she hit him, but she knew that he was stretching the truth. There's no way a punch like that would hurt more than the rest of the injuries he sustained in the fight. "You shouldn't have called her Boob Hammer. What is that even supposed to mean? It sounds like a bad attempt at flirting."
"Long story," Kankuro said. "She put that nickname upon herself."
"You deserve that bump on your head if that's the way you're going to keep talking to people." Mimi said bluntly.
"That's harsh. She didn't have to hit me so hard. It really hurts."
Mimi rubbed his head again, massaging it gently. Kankuro smirked. It didn't really hurt that much, but he liked it when she touched him. He could get used to that.
"Kankuro, why do you have to resort to fighting all the time?" She asked while massaging his head. He was always arguing with someone.
"Because it's fun." Kankuro said matter-of-factly like that would be a normal answer to such a question. "And that's the way shinobi handle things. What do you expect us to do, talk things out over tea? This isn't a princess party."
"It's not fun when you're full of cuts and bruises. And I don't see any of the shinobi in Konoha doing that."
"That's because they're soft." He said bluntly.
Mimi shook her head. "Why did you pick a fight with Kiba of all people anyway? He didn't do anything to you."
"I was bored and he was there. I don't really like him, either."
"Why not? He's really nice."
"'Really nice?' How? By trying to get in your pants by impressing you with that stupid dog and making up stories to make himself look tough?"
"That's not true." Mimi told him. "You're exaggerating."
"Yes it is. I know what he's doing and it's fucking pathetic. It's your choice if you wanna fall for that. Based on what you've told me you've never had good taste in guys anyway."
Mimi pursed her lips angrily. He was bold to say something like that. Where was all this talk coming from?
"And how do you know that he's doing that? You're not a mind reader!" Mimi told him. "Just because that's what you do to girls that doesn't mean everyone else does."
Kankuro laughed at her accusation. "Don't compare me to that asshat. I don't need animals and fake stories to get girls. I'll never stoop that low and I would never need to. He was a loser when I first met him and he's still a loser now."
"You don't seem to be giving him enough credit. You got pretty bruised up from that loser," Mimi teased, getting an angry look from Kankuro.
"I'll give him credit when he actually beats me in a fight."
Mimi smiled. "I was just joking, no need to give me that death stare, sheesh. Tenten beat the both of you, actually, so she wins."
Kankuro scoffed. She wasn't wrong, though. "Whatever," he said.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The following days weren't outside of the ordinary for Mimi. She spent most of her time looking around in Konoha with Temari or Kankuro, and sometimes Kiba, to Kankuro's annoyance.
Mimi's meeting with the Hokage turned out to be longer than she expected, and he scheduled another meeting with her for the next week. It turns out that he wants her to look over the financial paperwork for Konoha, too, after she told him about the situation in Suna. She agreed, because knowing Konoha's financial standing would give her an idea on how much they would be able to lend to Suna. Due to all the mission requests from other villages and nations, it seems like Mimi would be able to get them to lend Suna more than anticipated if she played her cards right, and she could help Konoha at the same time. Things seemed a bit disorganized and it doesn't seem like they reevaluated the priorities for Konoha yet due to the huge influx of mission requests.
"I can't believe you agreed to stay here longer," Kankuro told Mimi after they left the office.
"The Hokage wants me to look over some documents for Konoha." She replied, not understanding why that would be such a huge issue.
"We didn't come here for that."
"Well, what was I going to say? I couldn't refuse a request from the Hokage. This could help Suna, too. And I kind of want to help him. He seems overwhelmed."
"Great," Kankuro said unenthusiastically. "This has been one of the most boring missions I've ever been on. It's to the point that I'm hoping there's some rogue shinobi who want to steal Konoha's financial documents so I can get in a really good fight."
"Aw, don't sound so disappointed. Konoha isn't so bad. And I think you've had enough fights for one mission." Mimi told him, amused at his comment about someone planning the financial ruin of Konoha. Though it was definitely possible, it was just funny to imagine that that would be a way shinobi would fight against a village, of all ways to destroy one.
"The fight with the mutt was child's play." Kankuro said arrogantly. "It's just after a while the people get annoying."
Mimi chuckled. "Don't be so misanthropic. You chose to come here." That actually made Mimi wonder why Kanjo wasn't able to come with her. She wasn't informed of the sudden change of plans, but she guessed it was because that piece of information was unimportant, or none of her concern. "And maybe your experience would be better if you didn't start fights with people and pick on kids." She added.
"I don't pick on kids. Who told you that?"
"The boy who was at the gate of Konoha when we came. I bumped into him when he was watching you and Kiba fight."
"Is that what that little runt told you? You forget that he's associated with Naruto. That should tell you how much of a pain in the ass he is."
"What's wrong with Naruto? He's a loudmouth, but he's a good role model." Mimi said.
"That's what you think." Kankuro commented. She obviously doesn't know about Naruto's immature pranks.
As Mimi and Kankuro walked back outside, they bumped into Sai who was walking with Inojin, who was currently sleeping.
"Hello, Munchkin. Hello, Objectophile." Sai said to them friendlily, with an odd smile.
"You can call me Mimi, Sai." Mimi said to him flatly.
"And I'm not an objectophile. Can you stop calling me that?" Kankuro said, annoyed.
"Oh, I take it you're not an objectophile anymore?" Sai asked. "I apologize. I forgot about what Naruto told me. Is it because you're dating? I guess it makes sense that you would be into girls that look like little creepy dolls with no curves."
Mimi looked at him, confused. His insults didn't make sense with the tone of his voice, which was friendly. Should she even be upset? Ino did say he doesn't mean to be offensive...and now she couldn't shake the fact that Kankuro was right about the people getting annoying. Looking at Kankuro, she could swear she could see a vein popping from his head.
"What did Naruto tell you?" Mimi asked curiously. She hoped he wasn't spreading false rumors. That would be lame.
"The other night-"
"Nothing." Kankuro said crossly, interrupting Sai. He couldn't believe that moron told everyone.
Just like before, it seems like Inojin saved his father from anyone's wrath once again, as he distracted Mimi when he woke up, changing her mood when he looked up and smiled at her. Kankuro looked at Inojin curiously as the baby was being entertained by Mimi's cooing noises. Kankuro didn't see the big deal with babies. All they did was eat, sleep, and poop. There's nothing really remotely interesting about them at all. As he was eyeing the baby, Inojin eventually looked at him, and his smile turned into a blank stare before he started to cry loudly.
"What did I do?" Kankuro asked himself.
"Maybe you're just ugly." Sai suggested plainly, shrugging.
Mimi couldn't help but laugh at that comment; his bluntness caught her off guard. Turning to Kankuro, she could swear she saw smoke coming out of him.
"Well, it was nice speaking to you, Sai! See you later!" Mimi said quickly, dragging Kankuro away before anything escalated.
"Do you see why I want to leave now?" Kankuro said heatedly. "Then everyone wonders why I have no patience with the people here."
"Don't listen to what Sai says. We all know he has a couple of screws loose."
"Really? Because it looked like you were agreeing with him." He said, looking at her halfheartedly.
Mimi snickered after recalling what Sai said to him five minutes ago, Kankuro scowling at her indignantly.
"Just because I thought it was funny doesn't mean I think it's true." Mimi said, trying to control her laughter.
"Yeah right."
"Sai says a lot of stupid things. He says everyone's ugly besides Ino and Inojin. You're a good looking guy." Mimi said, looking up at him kindly.
Kankuro looked away shyly. No one's ever told him that when he was wearing his paint and hat on.
Mimi giggled as she saw him blush slightly. She liked getting him flustered; he looked cute. He always tried to be so serious all the time. She had to admit she's gotten quite smitten with him.
"There you are, Kankuro. You said we would meet in front of the Hokage's building. What are you two doing here?" Temari said, eyeing them as she saw Kankuro blushing and Mimi laughing in a small alley some distance away from the Hokage's building. Were they...flirting?
"Avoiding small talk with Sai." Mimi said, getting a look of disbelief from Temari as she had used that line before. "Really, we were. We just bumped into him." Mimi added honestly.
"It's a miracle that guy even got married," Kankuro mumbled.
"I guess there's someone out there for everyone," Temari said.
Kankuro secretly disagreed with that. It was easy for her to say. But that's something he wouldn't share with anyone, not even Temari.
"Where's Shikamaru?" Mimi asked curiously. She hasn't seen him for a while. He was never around when she would spend time with Temari.
"He's with Mirai." Temari said.
Mimi looked at Temari questionably. Temari's not the type to seem insecure, but she still doesn't seem like the type to just let Shikamaru hang out with girls alone.
"She's the daughter of his sensei who passed away." Temari added after seeing Mimi's expression.
"Oh," Mimi said, feeling awkward. Why did she always have to end up reminding people of loss? She was a mood killer without even trying.
"What are you doing later, Mimi? Want to come over? Yoshino has a recipe she wants to share with me. You might be interested." Temari inquired, changing the subject.
That reminded Mimi that she actually had plans with Kiba. She agreed to see him after she left the Hokage's office. "That sounds great, but I have somewhere else to go."
"Running off with that mutt again?" Kankuro commented disdainfully.
Mimi rolled her eyes. "I'll see you guys later," she said, walking away.
Temari gave him a marginally haughty and amused look, smirking as if she were mocking him.
"Come on," Temari said.
As they walked in silence, Kankuro kept glancing at Temari, getting annoyed with the way she was looking at him.
"What? Why do you keep staring at me like that?" He asked.
"Oh, it's nothing...your dislike for Kiba seems so sudden." Temari said smugly.
"I never liked him. He called me a moron and underestimated me, and thinks he's better than everyone. He put his foot in his mouth after I saved his ass. I should have left him for dead that day."
"He doesn't seem so bad." Temari said. "You were stupid for resorting to fighting him."
"He's a loser. The idiot thinks he's a hotshot because he's impressing Mimi with his bullshit. He's not that much of a big deal."
"You're just overthinking things." Temari commented. He was starting to remind her of the way he would act when she would try and go on dates with other guys. Wait a second, could this mean...? "I never asked you anything about Mimi." Temari said, smiling.
"Whatever..." Kankuro said, looking in the other direction.
Temari smirked, raising a brow. She might have caught on to something interesting. Wait till Shikamaru hears about this.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
After spending the rest of the day with Kiba, the stars were already starting to appear in the night sky, and Mimi and Kiba walked along the now quiet streets of Konoha as all the citizens retired to their home to rest.
"The moon looks so much smaller in this part of the world," Mimi said as she looked up at the sky.
"Is that so? I never paid much attention to that," Kiba said.
"Have you ever traveled North?" Mimi asked.
"Not that I remember," Kiba said. "I've been on so many missions that I've lost track."
"Oh," Mimi said, changing her attention to her surroundings as she walked with him. She felt something brush against her hand, noticing that Kiba was attempting to hold it. She let him, not really paying much mind to it. Looking toward the ground, she sighed internally. She knew there was something wrong here. Kiba was a great guy, and she enjoyed his company. But to get to know him more to keep dating in the future...for some reason, it just didn't settle well with her. Isn't she supposed to feel some type of happiness that he was trying to hold her hand, instead of indifference? But Rubi told her that sometimes she just needed to give things a chance because some things take time. Trying to take her advice, she tried to strike up more conversation while they were walking in silence. "So, where's Akamaru? I haven't seen him with you these past couple of days."
"He tends to disappear sometimes, but he always comes back." Kiba said. "There's a female dog he's been spending time with. They've been together for a while."
Mimi couldn't help but feel crestfallen. Even the dog has a better love life than she does. Apparently Akamaru's been able to hold a stable relationship too. Isn't that something. "That's...cute," she said.
"He's probably home by now, though. Want to come over to my place? He'll be happy to see you."
"Sure," Mimi said.
But at Kiba's place, Akamaru was already sleeping soundly. Looking around, his home looked like that of a typical bachelor.
"Aw, I don't want to wake him up. He looks so peaceful." Mimi said.
"It's alright. Come, sit down," He told her. "Do you want some tea or something?"
"No thank you."
Sitting down next to her, he gently put his hand on her lap. "I hope you like it here in Konoha."
"I love it here..."
"I'm glad," he said, leaning closer to her.
Before Mimi could realize it, their lips were an inch away from each other, and so many thoughts started whirling around in her head. The advice of Rubi telling her to give things a chance kept repeating in her mind, but the feeling in her gut was betraying what her thoughts were continually telling her. Why wasn't she excited, or nervous from anticipation? Wasn't she supposed to feel something...giddy, at least? Or was she just overthinking this? Maybe reading those romance novels during her spare time wasn't the wisest thing. Did it raise her expectations? But when she thought of a person who made her feel something, someone she secretly thought about all the time, someone who kept her on her toes and who was so easy to talk to, and kept her interested, someone she wouldn't mind kissing...she just now realized...it wasn't Kiba. She saw Kiba no more than a friend. There was no spark, no chemistry, and nothing could change that. If she continued, she'd just be lying to herself, and lying to him. She couldn't do this.
As he inched closer, she slowly turned her head away from his.
"I'm sorry," Kiba said, giving her space.
"No, don't be...it's not you. It's just I, I can't-"
"You're thinking of someone else," Kiba stated, as if he was already familiar with this.
"W-what? No-"
"You don't have to deny it. I've seen that look before. You have someone else on your mind. You like Kankuro, don't you?" He said almost too casually. "I suspected it after that fight we had and how you ran to him."
Mimi felt her heart flutter as he brought up his name. She looked down at Kiba's floor as if it got suddenly interesting. Yes, he was the person that had crossed her mind through her confusion, but why? She does like his personality, for one. Unlike a lot of people, Kankuro never tried to force himself to be nice to try and impress anyone, but that isn't indicative of her liking him. She could name things she likes about anyone's personality. That didn't answer any of the other questions she was thinking of, though. She had to admit she was kind of attracted to him. She felt her face heat up as she reminded herself that the thought has crossed her mind how he would look without those black, baggy clothes. Well, those questions and thoughts were stupid, anyway. There were just as many things she could list that she didn't like about the puppeteer, too...like...well, he does upset her at times, but she couldn't stay mad at him for long. But that didn't mean she liked him...did she?
"You're blushing."
"I'm sorry..." Mimi said, still looking down. She had gotten so lost in her thoughts she almost forgot he was sitting in front of her. She did like him...and she didn't even know what to do with that information now that she came to this realization. Way for Kiba to open up a can of worms.
"It's alright. I've been through this before." Kiba said, looking ahead as if he was thinking of something else...or someone else.
"That doesn't make me feel any better." Mimi said, feeling more guilty that this isn't the first time a situation like this has happened to him.
"Don't feel bad. Want me to tell you a secret?" Kiba asked.
Mimi sighed in amusement, shaking her head. Ever since she's been down here it's just been secret after secret she's had to keep. "Well, it's my namesake. But please, I hope this one doesn't get me in an awkward and unwanted situation," she told him, remembering the last couple of times she's had to keep secrets for people ever since she's come here.
"It won't if you don't open your mouth." Kiba promised.
"Well, fine. It's the least I could do after I just wasted your time." She said guiltily.
"You didn't waste my time, trust me. Naruto's wife...she's the third member of my team that you haven't met. Her name is Hinata." Kiba started. "She's always liked Naruto, ever since we were kids. But she was too shy to ever pursue him, so he never really paid much mind to her. And at that time, Naruto was interested in another girl on his team."
"Oh, that's sucks. Did the girl on Naruto's team like him back?" Mimi asked, wondering where on earth he was going with this.
"No." Kiba said. "She loved their other teammate, Sasuke. It's a good thing those two ended up together, because that bitch is crazy. Naruto would have never been able to keep her in check, now that I think about it."
"Wow, okay..." Mimi commented, wondering how Naruto's teammate was like if someone as powerful as him couldn't keep her in check.
"I used to make fun of Hinata for it all the time because she would faint every time she would see him." Kiba said, reminiscing. "But there was a point in time Naruto left Konoha for like two to three years to train with his master. It gave me and Hinata more time to get...closer without him being a distraction."
"So you liked this Hinata chick." Mimi stated, reading between the lines.
"I did." Kiba said. "Ever since the Chunnin exams, I felt like I always had to keep up with Naruto. But when he left, I saw it as my chance to at least show Hinata there was someone who actually notices her. She was still the shy person she's always been to other people, but she started to really open up to me. We...ended up becoming more than friends, and I thought her infatuation with Naruto went away. Man, we had such a good relationship. I really thought she was the one for me. We even made love, countless times."
"Get out," Mimi said, shocked. "Does Naruto know about that?"
"Hell no. He thought she was a virgin when she got with him. I honestly thought he would've found out by now...I mean-he has serious power! But he's a knucklehead. It's better off he doesn't know. No one even knew we were together except our sensei and Shino, and that was because they suspected something was going on between us two. Shino would always comment how me and Hinata would forget he was there when we would all spend time together."
"Aw, that's sweet," Mimi said, but she couldn't believe that Naruto doesn't know about it by now. Maybe he just doesn't care?
"It was sweet while it lasted. All of that went down the drain once Naruto came back. She ended the relationship soon after. It was like he never left! I really thought she was over him. I should have known better."
"That's messed up. You weren't mad?"
"I was pissed! I felt so used, like I was some kind of rebound while he was gone...I said a lot of things I shouldn't have, but I couldn't stay mad at her. It wasn't completely her fault...I had made it really obvious that I liked her, and she didn't want to disappoint me. When Naruto left, she felt that maybe it was time for her to move on. I give her credit for trying and giving me a chance. I still loved her...but I had to accept it for the sake of our team after she told me she still loved Naruto. I didn't want our missions to be affected because of it, so I just shrugged it off and pretended nothing ever happened. And Shino really helped me. That guy...he's a great friend. It's the only reason why I let him think he's the leader of our team...sometimes. But even now, I know that she still thinks of what could have been. I could tell from the way she looks at me that there's a part of her that will always remember what we had. But that's in the past now."
"That blows, I'm sorry to hear that." Mimi said. "But what compelled you to tell me this? This is a pretty deep secret. It's kind of scandalous, being that Hinata pretty much lied to Naruto about her virginity."
"She didn't lie to him, exactly...he just...kind of assumed she was, and she went with it." Kiba said. "And I told you because you admitted to me you liked Kankuro; a secret for a secret. I didn't want you to think I was going to go off telling everyone, unless you want me to."
"No, absolutely not!" Mimi said, her face getting red at the thought of Kankuro finding out. She couldn't imagine him being the type to even be interested. "He'll probably just tease me about it."
"I doubt that," Kiba said flatly.
"Why?"
"Nothing...just a feeling." Kiba said, not wanting to bother to explain anything, though he suspected that Kankuro acting like the biggest cockblock of the century was starting to make much more sense. Shino was right, once again. He should have just left Mimi alone. "I don't see the reason why you just won't tell him."
"He won't be interested."
"Maybe you could change his mind." Kiba pondered.
Mimi laughed at that suggestion. "Change his mind? That guy is stubborn as a mule. Not even God could change his mind about anything."
"I don't see the point in waiting. You're better off giving it a shot sooner than later...but then look what happened to me..." Kiba said, reevaluating his own advice.
"I think you'll find someone." Mimi pondered. "Who knows, maybe she'll be an animal lover like you."
"That'll be awesome," Kiba said, thinking about it. "As long as she doesn't like cats. I hate cats. But I don't mind staying single for the time being."
Mimi laughed. She could imagine the commotion that would ensue with cats and dogs running around everywhere in his house. That would definitely be interesting and hilarious to see. But what were the chances of that happening...right?
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Shikamaru and Temari were standing at Konoha's gates, waiting for Mimi and Kankuro since it was time for them to leave.
"What's taking them so long?" Temari asked.
Shikamaru shrugged apathetically.
"Maybe they wanted some alone time," Temari joked.
"For what?"
"You mean you haven't noticed?"
"Noticed what?" Shikamaru asked, sounding uninterested.
"Don't you think Kankuro's a bit...jealous of Kiba?" Temari asked. "I picked up on it the other day when I met up with him in front of the Hokage's building."
"Oh, that." Shikamaru said. "You just noticed it then? All Kiba did was confirm what I was thinking ever since I got to Suna. I picked up on that a long time ago. I don't really care, either way. That's his problem."
"Of course..." Temari said dully, not really surprised that he was a step ahead of everything once again. "Oh, look, they're coming."
The rest of the days spent at Konoha were refreshing, but even though Mimi enjoyed her stay here, she did miss Suna, and looked forward to seeing Rubi. She was now standing at the gate with Kankuro, ready to depart with Temari and Shikamaru seeing them off. Mimi thanked the both of them for giving her such an enjoyable experience.
"You better come back around soon," Temari said, half-jokingly to Kankuro.
"I'll try. Gaara's been trying to keep me trapped in Suna ever since you planned to leave."
"Temari will be fine with me." Shikamaru said confidently.
"She better be." Kankuro said. "You do anything to my sister and I'll gut you while you're still conscious and add you to my puppet collection."
"Such lovely mental images," Mimi commented plainly at his grotesque description.
Shikamaru laughed nervously after an awkward silence. "You're a funny guy, Kankuro."
"I'm not trying to be funny." He said seriously.
"I would never hurt Temari. She's scary enough as it is. Most foreign women are."
"What are you insinuating?" Temari asked Shikamaru skeptically, putting her hand on her hip.
"I don't think foreign women are scary." Kankuro said plainly, siding with Temari.
"That's because you're the scary one," Mimi said to Kankuro.
"Whatever, just drop it. I didn't mean anything," Shikamaru said, not wanting to explain himself after realizing he probably made a mistake for voicing that opinion. But that didn't stop Temari from reprimanding him.
Mimi had to agree with Shikamaru on this one as she observed Temari telling him off. Pregnant or not, she didn't think anyone who had some common sense would dare cross Temari. Mimi had to admit, Shikamaru had guts for saying some of the things he did. For him being so smart, she would think he would be a bit more mindful about the things he says when she's around.
"Okaaaaay...well, I think we should get going." Mimi said to Kankuro, feeling a hint of pity for Shikamaru as they left the village.
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As nightfall approached, Mimi and Kankuro settled down for the night after walking all day, Mimi nodding off until she heard a weird clicking sound which roused her. She thought nothing of it and started to nod off again, until the sound startled her slightly as she was almost fully asleep again. Attempting to ignore it, she was almost fully asleep until the clicking sound woke her once again, this time the noise being particularly loud and irritating.
Frustrated that her sleep was being constantly interrupted, she got up to investigate where the noise was coming from, seeing Kankuro hunched over sitting on the ground doing something close by. She couldn't see what he was doing though, since his back was turned to her. Mimi slowly crawled over to where he was to see what he was doing, peeping over his shoulder to see a bunch of mechanisms she did not understand. He briefly stopped what he was doing when he sensed her presence, and then resumed to whatever he was focused on.
Being that it was already dark, Mimi couldn't really see what he was doing specifically. He seemed to be playing with screws inside one of his puppets. She leaned closer to get a better look, putting her hand on his shoulder for leverage. Kankuro stopped for a moment, getting annoyed, but he continued nonetheless, choosing to ignore her.
Mimi squinted her eyes in contemplation. Whatever he was doing looked complicated. Wanting to get a closer look, she rested her chin on his shoulder nosily. Kankuro felt his heart skip a beat as he felt her close to him. Kankuro sighed angrily. He couldn't focus.
"I don't know what customs you have back where you come from, but where I'm from we like our personal space." He finally said.
"Huh?" Mimi asked.
"I mean get off of me, you dwarf."
"'Personal space'...you've got to be kidding me," Mimi said as she scooted away, pouting. "We crossed that line a long time ago when you put your hand up my shirt. I just wanted to see what the heck you were doing."
"Well how do you expect me to focus with you breathing down my neck? It's like Konoha made you just as annoying as everyone else there. Go back to sleep."
"I'm not the only one being annoying here." Mimi retorted. "Why do you think I'm up in the first place? I would be sleeping peacefully right now if someone wasn't making loud clicking noises!"
"Shut up," he mumbled, focusing back on fixing his puppet.
Mimi sat next to him, watching him. "What are you doing?" She asked.
"Stuff." He said sardonically.
Mimi stood quiet again, watching inquisitively as he was screwing some weird circular mechanism in the puppet. "What's that?" She asked.
"Why do you care?"
"I don't know...it just looks interesting."
Kankuro glanced at her skeptically. "You're the first villager who's ever said that to me."
"Really?"
"Yeah. A lot of villagers show interest in other fighting techniques."
Mimi shrugged. "I guess with the job I ended up doing, anything else sounds more interesting. And I've never really seen anyone else use it..." she said. "Why did you decide to use puppets anyway?"
"I get a thrill out of controlling things. And I get to be creative in the way I want to hurt my opponent."
"So you're a sadistic control freak. Why doesn't this surprise me?" She stated before thinking.
Kankuro glared at her before deciding to ignore her comment and resume fixing his puppet.
Mimi didn't say anything else, getting the clue that she was probably getting on his nerves at this point. As she watched him, she noticed something different about him that she didn't catch before.
"Hey, you don't have your paint or your hat on," she pointed out.
"You just noticed?" He said flatly.
"Well, yes...you don't look much different with your paint off. Sue me for not noticing." Mimi said, feeling a bit thrown off that he didn't look much different without it. She expected he was trying to hide a scar or something, making that association when she first saw the Hokage, who always wears a mask. But all she saw was the same serious, handsome face.
"Stop lying."
"I'm not lying," she said.
"I don't believe you. You're the only person that thinks that." He said more defensively than he wanted to. He didn't want to believe her. He was safe hiding behind his paint, looking like a different person.
"So? Just because no one else can see past your paint, doesn't mean I can't." Mimi teased, eyeing his messy brown hair. She thought it would be reddish or blond like one of his siblings.
Kankuro looked away, feeling uncomfortable, already having a feeling where this conversation was going. But he couldn't hide this time the way he could with everyone else. He looked down at his puppet, trying to find something else to fumble with in hope of deterring the conversation.
"Kankuro, why do you wear the war paint?" She asked after a moment of silence.
"...Because I can." He answered, saying what he always did when someone asked him that.
"There has to be another reason," Mimi said in mock skepticism, already expecting that reply. "What are you trying to hide?" She prodded playfully.
"Can you just drop it?" Kankuro said angrily. "What is this, twenty questions? Mind your business. You don't see me asking you why you're a loan officer."
"Well, it's simple, really. Two and two is always four, no matter how good, bad, beautiful, ugly, charming or annoying...no matter what happens, numbers don't change; they'll always be dependable. They won't lie to you, hurt you, leave you, or die..." She rambled, fumbling with Kankuro's hat in her hands, which she previously picked up when she saw it near the puppet.
"Hey, give that back," he told her.
"No," she said mischievously.
"I don't want to have to make you give it back to me," he said seriously.
"What are you gonna do? Use ninjutsu on me? Oooh, I'm so scared." Mimi joked.
"I wouldn't need to resort to that, simpleton," he said, attempting to grab his hat, but she quickly dodged it, laughing as he attempted to wrestle the hat out her hand.
"Having trouble?" Mimi teased, dangling the hat in his face. "Looks like you're going to have to use your cloak with the hood from now on...or just get a new hat."
Kankuro smirked. "Are you testing me?"
"Maybe."
In a moment she found herself pinned to the ground, Kankuro above her. She attempted to get up, but she couldn't budge.
"You should know by now that I don't like being underestimated." He said lowly, smirking.
Mimi looked up at him, almost forgetting why they were like this in the first place. All she could think about was the position they were in, and how she loved it when he smirked like that.
"That was disappointing. I thought you'd put up a better fight than that," he teased, casually taking his hat back before returning to where he had been sitting before.
Mimi sat up, smiling softly with a faint blush on her cheeks. Maybe next time, she will put up a better fight, even if she knew she wouldn't win. She couldn't really complain about the outcome.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Entering Suna once again, Mimi was glad to be back, eager to inform the Kazekage that he would be able to repair the parts of the village that needed it based on what she was able to do with the Hokage. A part of her was excited to explain to him what she was able to do to make this possible, but she presumed that the Kazekage himself wouldn't want to delve too much into the details if he didn't want to fall asleep midway through her explanation. He looked bored enough when she was explaining what she usually does when he requested her to see him. She could only imagine the look on his face when she explains all the paperwork. She sighed, guessing it takes a special kind of person to do what she does...possibly a madman, a masochist filled with pain and melancholy.
Looking around, Mimi noticed the village seemed more lively than usual. She liked the energy that was currently being given off in the village. It was definitely one to boost one's spirits, and made her walk to the Kazekage's office pleasurable. The Kazekage seemed to be busy, though, since she overheard other voices in the office from the door, so she decided that it would be best to come back in an hour or so. While she was headed back out the building, she stopped quickly, getting distracted by five picture frames hung up on one of the walls. There was a picture of the Kazekage there, and four other pictures before his, but she didn't know who the three others were. Observing the fourth and fifth picture, she concluded that it must be some type of family gallery, since there was a picture of the Kazekage, and Kankuro without his paint right next to it. The other three pictures must be some other family members.
"There you are. I was wondering where you went off to," Kankuro said, approaching Mimi.
"I didn't want to intrude on your conversation with Rojikku. I was going to talk to the Kazekage, but he's busy at the moment." Mimi said, turning back to look at the pictures again. "Is this your family?" Mimi asked, pointing to the other three pictures.
"No." Kankuro said. "Those are pictures of all the Kazekages."
Mimi eyed the pictures again, confused. "You used to be Kazekage?"
"No," Kankuro said, raising a brow. "Why would you think that?"
"Because you're right there," Mimi stated, pointing to the fourth picture.
"Can't you read? Does it say that's me?" Kankuro said acidly.
Mimi took a second look, not noticing the small text on the bottom of the picture. "Rasa, fourth Kazekage...oh, sorry, I got confused. Are you related to him or something?"
"...Yes, that was my...father..." He said, feeling awkward and upset.
"Oh, wow, you stole his face! You look just like him-"
"Well I'm not him." Kankuro interrupted angrily, snatching the documents from Mimi's hand.
"Hey, why'd you do that?" Mimi asked, taken aback by his attitude.
"I'll bring these to Gaara. Just get out of here, and don't bother coming back later either." He said rudely before walking away. She could have sworn she heard him punch something.
"Okaaaay..." Mimi said, puzzled and hurt. She had no idea what she did, but from the way it looks, she definitely hit a nerve.
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Kankuro walked in Gaara's office, slamming the papers on his desk before turning around to walk out.
"Excuse me, is something bothering you?" Gaara asked, already knowing the answer to that. But he refuses to be on the receiving end of his brother's unpredictable attitude.
"Buzz off." Kankuro said rudely, still walking toward the door.
"This is not a proper way of reporting your mission to me." Gaara stated. "Where is Himitsu?"
"She went to go kick rocks-"
"Do not speak to me with that attitude." Gaara said. "How do you expect me to get a proper report of this mission if she's not here?"
"I don't know. Not my problem." Kankuro said sharply, turning around to face him. "Go look for her then."
Gaara gave him a long, drawn out stare. He really wasn't in the mood to be dealing with this today. With all the festivities going to take place soon, the last thing he needed was to be dealing with trivial problems like this.
"That was extremely uncalled for." Gaara finally said, arms crossed in disapproval, having heard what went on outside of his office. He figured it was best to just get to the point instead of trying to ease the issue out of his stubborn older brother. "There was no reason for you to speak to her like that. She knows nothing of your past."
"Well she shouldn't have brought it up then," Kankuro mumbled grumpily.
"It was an honest mistake. She did not intend to offend you." Gaara said, sighing. "You owe her an apology."
"I don't owe her shit."
"You need to remember that you brought her here. She has no one, and she is alone. I can see it in her eyes-"
"Oh, don't start with that bullshit again-"
"Just listen to me. You need to learn to let things go. And I'm not talking about the situation that just occurred."
Kankuro glared at Gaara angrily. "You're really bringing this up right now?"
"I'm saying it because I care about you. If I forgave him for the atrocities he's put me through, I don't see why you can't do the same. It's not healthy to hold such a grudge. And to be honest, I don't understand why you hold so much anger."
"What are you saying?!" Kankuro yelled angrily. "You think you're the only one who could be angry just because you had to deal with the jinchuriki? At least he had faith in you! At least he fucking apologized to you!"
"I'm not saying you don't have a right to be angry. I'm saying I've gone past that, and I think you should get past whatever anger you hold as well. I'm not defending his actions, but he was in a desperate situation and did what he thought was best for the village."
"'Thought what was best for the village my ass...'" Kankuro mumbled. "What about being a decent father."
"We have to be optimistic. Even if our father wasn't perfect, we've had our mother."
"I think we all know who was her favorite," Kankuro said icily.
Gaara glared at him unbelievably. "Is this was this is about? Sibling rivalry?"
"It's more than that. But of course you wouldn't understand," Kankuro said disdainfully.
"What are you talking about?"
"Nothing," Kankuro said before walking out the office. There was a lot that he didn't tell Gaara, and he didn't want to bring it up anytime soon, or ever.
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Mimi sulked as she thought about what just happened, wondering what she did wrong. Sighing, she came down to the conclusion that it would just be best to leave it alone. Thinking it through over and over again in her head wasn't going to give her an answer, so she thought it best to just leave it alone for now, and apologize to Kankuro another time, even if she didn't know for what.
For now, she figured it would be best to go see how Rubi is doing to let her know that she's back. She should be out of work by now. Hopefully she wasn't working overtime today. But as she approached her apartment, she noticed the door was unlocked, slightly ajar. There were voices coming from the inside of the apartment; Rubi seemed to be arguing with someone.
"I'm just sick of this game you keep playing! You keep giving me mixed signals. Can't you ever take me seriously for once?" Mimi heard someone say loudly. It sounded like Ryu.
She wasn't able to hear anything else, because the voices were muffled and it seemed they just kept talking over each other. Eventually she heard Ryu say "I'm done with this" and he walked out of the apartment, too angry to bother greeting Mimi. Rubi attempted to walk after him, but decided to leave him alone after she saw Mimi standing there.
"Oh! Hey, you're back..." Rubi said, feeling happy about it, but the tone of her voice was clouded by her current mood.
"Hey...wanna talk?" Mimi said empathetically, putting her hand on her shoulder.
"Sure," she said lowly. "You don't look too happy either."
"I guess it's just not our day..." Mimi said, half joking.
Rubi smiled. "Come inside," she said, gesturing her to her apartment.
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Mimi and Sutera were in Rubi's apartment once again having just got out of work on the day of the festival, getting ready. Mimi didn't really plan on making herself up, but she gave in after Rubi and Sutera's convincing, mostly Sutera's convincing, since she had no date and wanted Mimi to accompany her for the festival. Apparently the guy she dated a couple of weeks ago didn't work out, and she didn't want to be alone for the night. Rubi had found another date that wasn't Ryu, which is what caused a problem between them in the first place. From what Mimi was aware of, they still weren't talking.
"Hn, I still don't know what to wear," Mimi said, looking at the clothes that were spread out on Rubi's bed. Sutera had made her go shopping for clothing that would be nice for the festival beforehand. Tapping her chin, she stood in contemplation which would be the best fit for her. Sutera didn't make her get clothes that she would normally wear, much to Mimi's dismay, so she was unsure of what would be the best pick. She wasn't really comfortable with the options that were given to her. They weren't things she would normally wear. She was almost done trying on all the outfits, and she still hadn't made a decision.
"How about this one?" Rubi suggested, pointing to a small black dress.
"Okay," Mimi said, putting it on since she and Sutera were only half dressed, only in their undergarments.
Mimi looked at herself in the mirror, observing herself judgmentally. "Hm...I think this one is too tight. It's kind of revealing, too."
"That's the point!" Sutera said.
"You've said all of them were either too tight or revealing." Rubi commented. "I just think you need to change your style."
"Sorry for preferring to be comfortable," Mimi said, taking off the black dress, reevaluating her options with what was left of what she bought.
"Well, I think this dress is perfect for me!" Sutera said, putting on a small, very revealing red skirt and top. "I don't have a date, but that doesn't mean I can't find one. Then I can finally meet the man of my dreams..."
"...I think you're going to attract the wrong kind of men with that." Mimi commented.
"Nonsense. This is perfect." Sutera said, admiring herself in the mirror. "If I wasn't able to get a date beforehand, I might as well find one at the festival. This is a perfect night to meet a bunch of prospecting bachelors. Why do you think so many girls dress up?"
Mimi shrugged. She understood why Sutera was getting all dressed up, but Mimi still didn't see a reason why she should. Mimi still wasn't all that eager to look for someone new, if she was being completely honest with herself.
"Well, Mimi, pick something quick. My date should be picking me up soon." Rubi told her, handing her the royal blue dress that was on the bed. "Here, try this one on. It's not too revealing so it should be okay."
Mimi put on the royal blue dress, and even though it wasn't ideal, it was good enough, minus being a bit too short for her taste.
"That looks perfect! Now let do your hair and makeup. My date should be here by the time I'm done." Rubi said.
Mimi reluctantly agreed.
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The festival was crowded, but lively; it wasn't something that Mimi was used to. There were so many people around, and she ended up losing track of Rubi and her date, so she was walking the streets of Suna with Sutera, who seemed to be preoccupied with other things. Mimi did enjoy the happy energy of the crowd, though. She had to admit, it was more fun than the festivals up North, since the Land of Snow was less populated. She enjoyed seeing the performances, and was going to ask Sutera what they should do next.
"So many hot guys! It's so hard to pick just one," Sutera said, as she was looking around.
Mimi gave her a flat look. "You know, you could be in a coma. All it would take is one hot guy within a five mile radius and you'll wake up in less than a second," she commented.
"Well, I don't want to be one of those old hags who never got married like the Fifth Hokage," Sutera commented. "I'm at my peak now! Time goes by so fast. If I wait, I'll be too old before I realize it!"
"That's not nice, Sutera. You shouldn't speak about any of the Hokages like that," Mimi said, though it was interesting to hear that the Fifth Hokage had been a female.
But as if the universe was granting Sutera another chance, she was approached by one of the many guys who had been staring at her. Eventually Mimi was left on her own as she went off with her new date. Mimi shook her head, hoping this time things will turn out better for her friend.
As it got darker, Mimi walked around, wondering what to do next. Eventually she passed by a group of girls. As she was overhearing their conversation, it seemed that they were talking about the Kazekage.
"I'm so sad. I heard he got a girlfriend!" One of the girls said. "I hope they don't work out. Then I can finally have a chance with him!"
"I can't believe he actually took his own student as a date," another girl said. "She's not even all that pretty."
Well, it seems that word has gone around about the Kazekage and Matsuri. Mimi thought that wasn't a very nice thing to say about her, though.
"Yeah, he's way too handsome for her." One of the girls said, agreeing.
"I think his brother's still single."
"Ew, his brother looks like a creep! He's still single for a reason."
That comment got Mimi upset. She frowned. They shouldn't speak about Kankuro like that.
"Aren't one of his puppets a dead body?" Another girl in the group added.
"That's totally gross. He doesn't deserve a girlfriend if that's true."
"He's so rude, too! I remember I spoke to him once to see if he can try to get me to speak to the Kazekage and he cursed me out!"
"It was well deserved, if that's the way you talk about people." Mimi said, interrupting their conversation, a bit amused at what the girl said. That is something Kankuro would do.
"Who was talking to you?" The girl said rudely after seeing who interrupted their conversation. "Don't tell me you actually like that creep."
"He's not a creep!" Mimi said defiantly. "How could you say something like that about someone when you don't even know them? And I don't think the Kazekage would appreciate you talking about his brother or his student like that."
"The Kazekage probably only tolerates that puppet freak because he's his brother. He would be nothing without the Kazekage." The girl replied. "He's a total jerk."
"Kankuro is strong! He saved my life and he's a good person, even if he may not seem like it at first...way better than you guys." She told them angrily.
"What do you know anyway? You're not even a shinobi. You're just a lowly villager." The girl said, the other girls snickering.
Mimi scowled at them before storming off. She wasn't going to waste her time arguing with ignorant people who thought they were superior because they knew how to fight.
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As nighttime approached, Mimi decided to walk away from the commotion and noise of the festival, looking around to find a good place to spend a couple of minutes alone. She needed a break from all those people, especially those girls who were saying bad things about Kankuro. It made her think about how he was doing. She hoped he wasn't still mad at her...she hasn't seen him since the incident at the Kazekage's building. When she had been requested by the Kazekage to come back to report to him how everything had gone, Kankuro wasn't there. But she was glad that the Kazekage was satisfied with the results, and requested she stay for the festival before departing to the Land of Snow.
Finding a small isolated alley some distance away from the festivities, she walked inside, leaning against the wall before noticing that someone was already there. Looking to see who it was, she looked down on the ground, flushing, after seeing the only person she knows to wear a long, black hooded cloak. Just her luck. She didn't even know what to say to him.
"Um, h-hi..." she managed to say. But he didn't say anything to her. Was he still upset? "I...I'm...s-sorry," was all she could muster. I probably sound completely stupid, she thought as she noticed him staring at her with his usual stern expression.
Kankuro hadn't really been in the mood to deal with the festival, and he was standing alone, in contemplation. That was until he heard someone else interrupt the solitude he was appreciating. He would have been upset if it were anyone else, but he knew who it was. He had overheard her arguing with those girls earlier, and now here she was, standing right in front of him. She was trying to say something to him, but he wasn't even paying attention. She looked beautiful, and he couldn't keep his eyes off that little dress she was wearing. The first thing that went through his mind when he saw her was if he didn't have any self control, he would have carried her away like the first day he met her and find a place where he could pry her little legs open and have his way with her. Which had him thinking what she was doing wandering in dark alleys alone at this time of night in the first place looking the way she does.
Mimi looked up at him in hopes that he would say something, but he just stood silent. Mimi concluded that it's obvious he was still upset...but she wished she could know what exactly she did wrong. Sighing, Mimi quickly turned around to walk away since he hadn't said a word to her.
"You have a bad habit of walking around alone when you shouldn't be," Mimi heard Kankuro say.
Mimi stopped, turning back around to face him. "I...I guess I'm just used to it. I used to do the same thing up North. Only difference is I had a cigarette."
"You're lucky it was me you bumped into." Kankuro said. "I could have been some other guy."
"And I thought I was pessimistic..." Mimi commented. "Way to anticipate the worst scenario."
"Sue me for worrying about you."
Mimi stood quiet, looking down at the ground again. She's been doing that a lot lately. She felt glad to hear that he worried about her. Did that mean he wasn't upset anymore? She was scared to ask.
"It's a nice night tonight, isn't it?" Kankuro asked after a brief moment of silence.
"Yes," Mimi said, agreeing with him. "So why are you here all alone?"
"Just thinking about some things." Kankuro said. "...Gaara's changed a lot over the years. There was a point in time when I would have never suspected he would become the Kazekage."
"Why not?" Mimi asked. Mimi thought he definitely seemed like the type.
"He used to be a ruthless killer. He didn't even consider me and Temari his family."
Mimi turned to him with a look of disbelief. Well. That was definitely an answer she was not expecting to hear. "R-really?!" Mimi asked. The Kazekage came off as a serious person who didn't show much emotion, but she would have never believed him to be the sociopathic type. Her neighbor with the cats up North was right. It was always the quiet ones. As she pondered what on earth could have happened that could make the Kazekage turn out that way, much less do a 180 and become good, Kankuro told her about what had happened to Gaara during his childhood and how he was treated by the village, and how Naruto changed all of that. And then he told her how much closer they got after Gaara changed.
"...and now he's the Kazekage, with a girlfriend and a bunch of fangirls. To think Gaara would get all these things...that's something. I'm happy for him, but I can't help but feel that I'm always in his shadow. I'm always stuck following his orders. It just seems backwards. I'm older than him...shouldn't it be the other way around?"
"I don't think he would have been able to achieve all of that without your support." Mimi told him. "And you have fangirls too."
"No I don't."
"Yes you do, what about all those girls you brought from your missions?"
"Those aren't fangirls. Those are just girls I fucked. They didn't really know who I was and weren't really aware of my abilities, nor did they care. They were just looking for a good time."
"Oh," Mimi said. "Well...I'll be your fangirl. I think your puppet stuff is cool...Kankuro-kun."
He smirked at her joke. "Spare me the endearment. I don't want a fangirl out of pity."
"I'm not doing it out of pity!" Mimi exclaimed. "I really do think the puppets are cool...even if they are a little creepy, and I like your black clothes and your paint and stuff..." Mimi said, trailing off. Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned the paint. The last time she brought it up, he didn't really like it much. But he didn't even glare at her when she mentioned it.
"...When I first was teamed up with Gaara, Temari advised I change my appearance because it might trigger Gaara to kill me." Kankuro said instead. "He hated our father. So I put on the paint and found a hat."
Mimi nodded. So that's why he wore the paint and the black clothes...but why was he telling her this?
"It was good advice. Before the Chunnin exams, Gaara saw me without it one day and luckily Temari walked in and caught him trying to kill me. She convinced him to let me go after she told him it was me. I don't know why he let me go. I thought he was far gone at that point, but it gave me hope that maybe there still is a sane person in that head of his. He still threatened me a lot afterward, though."
Well, that was a side of Gaara Mimi never wished to see. That must have been scary as shit. She was thankful Gaara didn't go through with that. "Why do you still wear it then? He's not like that anymore."
"Because I don't see myself when I take it off." Kankuro said. "My 'father' was a horrible human being for the stuff he did. Gaara wasn't the monster. He was the monster...he was the reason Gaara turned out like that. But he had faith in Gaara to be useful for something, at least, even though in the end he felt that Gaara failed him. But for some reason, he hated me...I don't know why. He treated Temari well. He would at least try and spend time with her when he could. He would basically ignore me. He never seemed interested in my well being at all. It was always Gaara or Temari...I don't know what I did wrong."
Mimi looked up at him sadly. Poor Kankuro. She would prefer no parent over a half-assed parent any day.
"In his eyes Temari could do no wrong, even when she did stuff she wasn't supposed to. He would let her get away with anything but if I were to do the same thing, he would beat me and talk down on me and say I wasn't going to amount to anything...he would say I was a waste of time and space. He said I had no value...never had a damned good thing to say the rare moments he did acknowledge my existence. Sometimes he would just beat me because he was frustrated. He would do it when nobody was around, but Temari saw him one day and she refused to speak to him again after that. But we don't talk about that incident."
"That's terrible," Mimi said. How could someone do these things to their own kids?
"But what really pisses me off the most is that he had the nerve to fucking brownnose Gaara to try and get some sort of forgiveness when they were put to fight." Kankuro said angrily. "Gaara told me how the fight went...of course he didn't tell him all the other shit he did...I didn't want to tell Gaara. I'd rather him not know. It doesn't surprise me, though. Typical of my father to act like he's a saint in front of everyone and keep the other fucked up shit he did behind closed doors. I hate him. He's a fucking narcissistic asshole and I hope he's rotting in hell."
Mimi looked at him, seeing the pained expression on his face. It must have been hurtful to be overlooked and treated that way. It was then that she realized that the tough attitude he puts up is to hide the hurt and the anger. She didn't know what to say to him...
Kankuro was caught off guard when he felt her hugging him. At first, he didn't even know how to react. He didn't get hugged much, and if this were any other person he would have just pushed them off of him. But this hug wasn't like the usual unwanted stupid hugs he rarely receives from people (Ryu being a perfect example). This hug was different. It made him feel different...like she cared. After all these years, maybe this is what he needed. He slowly put his arms around her in an embrace. She smelled good...
"Mimi..." He murmured.
"Yes, Kankuro?" She asked, looking up at him.
"Thank you." He said, looking into her eyes.
Mimi felt her heart leap as she looked up at the handsome face that was staring back at hers. Paint or no paint, she liked him for who he was, and she felt nervous butterflies in her stomach as she felt him hold her closer to him. This...it was this feeling that Mimi was expecting to feel. "With me...you don't have to hide..." Mimi told him, slowly slipping his hood off before he planted his lips on hers, the fireworks already in the sky. This couldn't have felt more perfect.
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Kabuto smirked as he watched Kankuro and Mimi from a distance in a hidden area. Well, well, it seems as if his spying has paid off, and he's finally found a weakness. The puppet master has found himself a girlfriend; this is perfect, Kabuto thought as he overheard their whole conversation. A civilian, at that. Luring him out of Suna would be a piece of cake using her. He was afraid he would have had to use the older sister since getting the Kazekage was out of the question; that was just a death wish and nearly impossible. Using the wind mistress would have been easier, especially since she left the village and pregnant as well, but it still would have had harsh consequences. Not only would it attract the puppeteer, but the Kazekage himself and the whole Nara clan, which in turn would involve the Yamanaka and Akimichi clans. It would have been too much work to handle. But this simple village girl, who seemed to have no ties to anything around here...he hit the jackpot.
He fled the scene quickly, ready to formulate a plan with the Shirogane clan. They would be excited to hear this news.
A/N: Already working on the next chapter.
