Authors Notes:
Here be the next chapter my faithful readers, i hope you enjoy. I'd like to also note, that this story has almost hit 1500 views, which is far more than i planned for, so thank you to all who have been following along with this fanfic.
I'd also like to point out to anyone who wishes to know, that there will be no actual sexual scenes within this story. There might be references and jokes about something of that nature happening, but the actual event will never be written by me. This is not because i am against such material, its simply because i do not trust myself to write anything like that in a way that would be in any form entertaining. Therefor, i offer my apologies to anyone who was hoping for such a thing.
I'd like to remind everyone to please leave a review on what you think about my story so far, along with any suggestions or short story ideas you wish for me to consider. Credit will be given where credit is due.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Temari woke up feeling dizzy and groggy, with a splitting headache throbbing through her head every few seconds. She couldn't remember most of last night, but she did remember Kankuro getting a lot of drinks from the cupboard. A pained groan escaped her as she tried to bury her face into her pillow, only to find that her pillow wasn't actually her pillow again.
Sitting up slowly, she looked over and felt a sense of déjà vu. Shukaku was once again asleep in her bed, and both of them had yet again been stripped down to their underwear. Temari could smell the suffocating amount of alcohol on the both of them, which served to only make her hangover so much worse.
Despite the circumstances, she couldn't find the energy to do anything in terms of reacting to her and Shukaku's state of undress. She was still tired, and she knew that if she even attempted to walk, she would definitely fall. Therefore, without any real thought, Temari lied back down against Shukaku and rested her head on his chest. She didn't expect him to react and wrap his arms around her in his sleep, but she quickly found that it was quite comforting to be held.
She sighed quietly and prayed that no one walked into her room before she had gotten over her hangover; Temari knew she would never live down the shame should either of her brothers find out that she had actually chosen to stay in bed with Shukaku.
Kankuro hit the floor with a heavy thud, a deep groan of pain escaping his throat as he tried to desperately climb back onto his bed. Last night had been a major mistake on his part, and now he would have to pay the price. Thankfully, he hadn't drunk all that much, so his hangover wasn't as bad as it could have been; kankuro also knew that the others had continued to drink long after he had stopped.
With a mischievous smile, he slowly stumbled to his door and walked to Gaara's room. If his siblings had gotten as drunk as he thought they had, then whatever state they were in now would be well worth seeing. It took him longer than expected to reach Gaara's room, but he figured that all good things go to those that wait.
Quietly opening the door and looking inside, Kankuro had to stop himself from laughing at his little brother. Gaara was laying on the floor in his racoon onesie with Matsuri snuggled up to him in a cat onesie, both of them tangled up in the blanket from the bed.
'Where the hell did she get a cat onesie? Actually, where did Gaara get his?' Kankuro thought to himself.
"My little bro has a girl," he whispered to himself before standing up as straight as he could and giving a salute. "Good job sir, you have my respect," he said quietly.
Closing the door just as quietly as he had opened it, Kankuro began to venture towards his sisters room. He assumed that Shukaku was downstairs on the couch, since he doubted Gaara would pull the same prank twice, and silently wished that he had a camera to capture whatever embarrassing state Temari was in.
He had seen a lot of people deal with hangovers before, but he could just tell that Temari would be a unique and hilarious case. Kankuro was certain that his sister wasn't much of a drinker, perhaps a glass or two here and there, but nothing serious; therefor, a hangover of this magnitude should be a new and agonising experience for her.
Kankuro was happy to note that it didn't take him as long to get to Temari's room as it did Gaara's, and he could already feel his somewhat minor hangover beginning to clear. Once he reached her door, he almost made the grave mistake of knocking, a habit he had been forced to develop due to his sisters naturally violent outbursts towards anyone who simply walked into her room.
Making sure to be as quiet as humanly possible, he inched the door open. Once he had the door open far enough to look into he peeked inside, only for the smile on his face to disappear and be replaced by a blush.
He could see both Temari and Shukaku, cuddled up in her bed, in nothing but their underwear. Unfortunately, due to his hangover being nearly gone, Kankuro noticed something else that concerned him even more; something that proved that this was not just another of Gaara's childish pranks. Covering Shukaku's neck were a few hickeys and several bite marks, he even noticed some on Temari's neck as well.
In horrified silence, Kankuro closed his sister's door and slowly walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. He sat there in silence for several minutes until he heard someone coming down the stairs; looking to the doorway, he saw Gaara walk in with an amused smile on his face, Matsuri followed closely behind with a content smile.
"Do you happen to know how our sister is doing?" Gaara asked quietly.
Kankuro looked curiously at his little brother as he noticed the barely contained amusement in his smile, as well as Matsuri struggling to stifle her giggling.
"What did you do this time Gaara?" he asked tiredly.
"Gaara didn't do anything," answered Matsuri with a giggle.
"Ok then, what did you do, Matsuri?" Kankuro asked.
"She didn't do anything either" answered Gaara cheerfully.
"Then why did I find Temari and Shukaku cuddled up together, half naked, with hickeys and bite marks?" he asked in frustration.
At that, Matsuri burst out laughing while Gaara began to chuckle lightly. Kankuro watched the both of them in growing irritation; could they not just tell him what the hell was happening.
"You should have seen them Kankuro, they were going at each other like crazy people!" exclaimed Matsuri as she started laughing harder.
"Are you telling me, that they were making out of their own accord?" Kankuro asked sceptically.
"Of course not, but once I reminded them that they would be required to possibly put on a show in public, well let's just say that alcohol causes some bad decisions to be made" Gaara explained.
"They made a competition out of who could be the better kisser, one thing led to another, and Temari dragged Shukaku up to her room," Matsuri added with a perverted giggle.
"And you two just let it happen?" yelled Kankuro.
"Why wouldn't we?" asked Gaara with a raised non-existent eyebrow.
"Because…" Kankuro began but paused suddenly.
Now that he thought about it, kankuro really couldn't find any reason for not letting Temari and Shukaku do as they pleased. Sure, Shukaku was one of the nine Bijuu, but he was practically human for now, not to mention that Shukaku was actually quite a nice guy once you got to know him. Then there was Temari, who would more than likely kill anyone who told her who she could and could not kiss. Yep, Kankuro definitely couldn't find any reason to go against them.
"I revoke my previous question," he said quickly.
Everyone stopped when they heard a loud thud come from upstairs, which was quickly followed by a second and not so loud thud. Gaara and Matsuri moved out of the doorway and they all waited quietly. After a couple of minutes, an extremely hung-over Shukaku walked into the kitchen with an equally hung-over Temari.
Shukaku had put on his pants but seemed to have forgone anything else in terms of clothing, and Temari had put on a pair of her own baggy pants along with Shukaku's shirt. They groggily walked over to the table and sat down with heavy sighs.
"Would anyone care to explain what happened last night?" Shukaku asked sleepily.
"According to these two" Kankuro began while gesturing to Gaara and Matsuri. "You and Temari got really drunk and challenged each other to some kind of make out contest," he explained with his own amused smile starting to form.
Shukaku's head slammed into the table as he groaned in pain, Temari just held her head in her hands as she tried to forget what her brother said.
"Please tell me we didn't," she said hopefully.
"I'm sorry but that's what happened, you guys started making out until eventually you dragged Shukaku to your room; after that, we don't know what happened" replied Gaara.
The group was silent for a short while until Temari stood up and started walking to the stairs, dragging a still groggy Shukaku behind her.
"Where are you going?" asked Kankuro.
"Back to bed" she said bluntly.
"Why are you dragging me with you?" Shukaku asked.
"Because you're a comfortable pillow, now shut up, pillows don't talk" she said quickly and dragged him quietly up the stairs.
"Be at my office tomorrow morning," Gaara said.
"Whatever!" she yelled back at him, before she slammed her door shut.
The atmosphere in Gaara's office was slightly more tense than he had expected. Standing before him were his brother and sister, Shukaku, his old sensei Baki, and a handful of other jonin ranked shinobi. They all knew what they were here to discuss, yet most of the room's occupants seemed more concerned with keeping an eye on Shukaku and Temari; Gaara was glad that Baki was not one of those people, although the man had sent a few concerned glances to Temari.
It didn't help that they were both sitting off to the side of the office, as if trying to hide in the shadows. Despite this, a few of the shinobi had noticed the hickeys and bite marks that had yet to completely heal on Shukaku, along with the few left on Temari. The presence of Shukaku's large scythe was not making things any easier either.
"Lord Kazekage, are you sure it's ok to discuss something like this with him in the room?" asked one of the shinobi while sending a pointed look at Shukaku.
"I'm not sure if he can be trusted, sir; it may also be best to remove lady Temari as well, lest she tell him the information otherwise" said another.
"I assure you, Shukaku is trustworthy, and my sister has never given any reason for anyone to doubt her loyalty" Gaara replied calmly, he had decided to use his old emotionless mask when dealing with Kazekage duties. "Is there anything else?" he asked.
"With all due respect my lord, I do not feel comfortable with them here," said another of the shinobi.
"Then leave" replied Baki.
"Excuse me sir?" the man asked.
"To question their loyalty is to question the Kazekage's judgement, therefor making your loyalty questionable. If you don't want to be in the same room as them, then get out; we will find someone else to do your job," Baki said sternly.
"But I still don't understand why they are here, we are discussing the security of the upcoming chunin exams, what do they have to do with it?" asked another in slight outrage.
"The exam proctors are required to be at this meeting," Gaara answered with a small amount of KI.
"Wait, the hell do you mean 'exam proctors'? I didn't sign up for that!" exclaimed Shukaku.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm with Shukaku on this, you can't just sign us up to it, not this close to the exams; we don't have time to plan our tests" said Temari.
"Don't worry, the basics of each test has already been decided, you just have to add your own unique twist on things to make it interesting enough to be challenging" Gaara explained. "You two will be in charge of proctoring the second exam and preliminary rounds if it comes to that and you'll be doing it together"
They both grumbled disapprovingly while muttering some choice curses at the redhead, but they didn't go beyond that.
"Baki, you will be proctoring the first exam, I trust you to not go easy on them," Gaara continued.
"Of course lord Kazekage"
"Good. I will be proctoring the third exam myself," Gaara said with a smile. "Now, we need to discuss security regarding the other villages. Since we possess an unsealed Bijuu, there are high chances of the other villages attempting to take control of Shukaku, we are to make sure that does not happen"
"Just let them take him, we don't need him" spat one of the ninja.
"Need I remind you that Shukaku, while unsealed, is not only our strongest asset, but also the sole controller of the entirety of wind country. If we lose him, we will be the only major village without a Bijuu under its control, putting as at a significant disadvantage. In addition, if another village were to capture him, we would lose Sunagakure; even if he is restricted to another jinchuuriki, the power that person would gain over the sands that surround our village would be enough to crush us effortlessly" Gaara explained.
"But you can still control sand, couldn't you defend the village?" asked one of the few female shinobi of the group.
"Not when that person has Shukaku's chakra at their disposal," he answered.
"Then why don't we just reseal the Ichibi now!" yelled the same ninja who had asked why Shukaku and Temari were at the meeting.
"You can fucking try!" shouted Shukaku as he picked up his scythe.
The unnamed shinobi roared in anger and charged at Shukaku. He got halfway across the room before collapsing, clutching his cleanly sliced throat as the blood flowed between his fingers. Everyone turned to look at Baki who's hand was covered in a blade of wind, as he stood above the dying man. Baki calmly dispersed his wind blade and calmly stepped away from the shinobi's body.
"Hey, I was gunna kill him!" exclaimed Shukaku.
Baki stared at Shukaku with some amusement. "If you had of killed him then everyone in this village would use it as an excuse to have you sealed, Gaara may be Kazekage but he does not possess the political power to stop a decision made by the majority of the village. Now that the man has died by my hand, no one can use it against you," he explained calmly.
"And why exactly would you be so kind to me?" Shukaku asked sceptically.
The man shook his head. "Not for you, for Temari. The whole village knows about you two and they wouldn't just stop at sealing you away, they'd more than likely kill her for her connection with you. She may be a jonin now but she will always be my student, and I will protect my students with my life if I must" the man said with conviction.
"Well said" stated Gaara. "Does anyone else feel the need to act against my orders?" he asked. No one said anything. "Good, now are there any more questions?"
"Yeah I got one" blurted out Shukaku. "Where's Kankuro?"
"Kankuro is going to meet the teams from Konohagakure at the border of wind country," Baki explained.
"Are we only doing that for Konoha?" he asked.
"No, a team has been sent to intercept each genin team from each village at our borders; this is a security measure to make sure the teams do not go where they are not permitted, and also allows us to keep an eye on them and keep them away from you and Temari" explained Gaara.
"Well there's not much else to discuss, I mean so long as me and Temari stick together we'll be fine; I am almost back to full strength and we are in the middle of a desert. Any extra guards you put around to protect us will just get in my way," Shukaku said nonchalantly.
"Are you doubting our capabilities?" asked an irritated shinobi.
"No, I am merely doubting your chances of survival should you get in my way from slaughtering anyone that would dare attack Temari" Shukaku replied sternly.
"So the demon does have a heart after all, who would have guessed," muttered a female shinobi.
"You wanna make another snarky remark, girl, cause I can show you your own heart if you want!" Shukaku yelled back.
"I'd like to see you try, but I'd kill your girlfriend before you could even get to me," she said confidently.
Shukaku glared at the woman before looking to Gaara. Gaara nodded his head solemnly and Shukaku turned to look questioningly at Temari, who also gave a solemn nod.
"Aww, does the big bad demon need permission? I didn't realise you were on such a tight leash" the female shinobi spat.
Shukaku burst into hysterical laughter. "Who ever said I was asking to do anything" he said with a crazed grin before he spun on his heels and walked back over to Temari.
He held out his hand, which she quickly took, before the both of them calmly walked out of the office. Every shinobi in the office, minus the dead one still lying on the floor, looked back to Gaara in confusion.
"Lord Kazekage, what just happened?" asked the woman.
"What happened is that you just threatened a fellow shinobi, my sister no less. If I was not currently acting as Kazekage, I would kill you for such a thing, but unfortunately for me, I am the Kazekage!" explained Gaara through gritted teeth. "Baki, I want you to give the orders for the shinobi forces to maintain standard security during the chunin exams; make sure they understand not to interfere with Temari or Shukaku," he ordered.
"You!" he said venomously while pointing to the female ninja. "You are suspended from active duty for threatening the life of a fellow shinobi without just cause, you will be reinstated as a chunin after three months; any further outbursts directed at the Ichibi or my sister will extend your sentence," Gaara stated.
"And for the love of Kami, will someone get rid of the body already" he shouted in irritation.
He sighed deeply as he collapsed onto his comfy office chair. Gaara was beginning to understand why the Hokage drank so much; he really needed a bowl of ramen right about now.
"So my dear, what would you like to do?" Shukaku asked with a hint of sarcasm.
Temari glared at him. They were both currently walking through the streets of the village at random with their arms interlocked. It was bad enough that they had to deal with people thinking they were together, but to have to act as if they actually were was beginning to annoy her.
"I was thinking we could just go home and relax," she said hopefully.
"Actually, I think I will agree with you on that; we need to plan our part of the exam anyway" he replied calmly.
They both remained silent as they walked back to the Kazekage mansion, Shukaku maintaining ignorance to everything around him, and Temari trying to ignore all the glares and disgusted looks sent their way. It didn't take them long to reach the house and once they were inside they both collapsed onto the couch with a sigh.
"Today was stressful," Temari said.
"I will admit, things could have gone better" Shukaku replied.
"And I still haven't fully recovered from my hangover either" she whined. "My head is killing me"
"Do you want a massage or something?" he asked innocently.
Temari gave him a confused and highly sceptical look. "Do you even know how to give a massage?" she asked.
"Yes" he answered simply.
"How?"
Shukaku chuckled slightly in embarrassment and avoided eye contact with Temari. "When I was much younger, my sister convinced me that the best thing I could do for a girl is know how to give a proper massage; therefor I learned how, and even perfected it," he said quietly.
Temari tried desperately to hold back the laughter that she knew was just waiting to burst out of her, but unfortunately it was too much and she exploded into uncontrollable hysterics. She continued to laugh for a few minutes, to the point of actually crying, until she was able to control herself to only a few girly giggles every now and then.
"You have a sister?" she asked with a smile.
"Actually I have two," he answered.
"And one of them convinced you to learn how to give a massage?"
"She did, yes"
"This sister of yours wouldn't happen to be named Matatabi would she? You know, the person you keep mumbling about in your sleep, something about building sandcastles," Temari said with a grin. She was getting ridiculously close to laughing again.
"Who the hell said you could listen in on my mumbling; that's private stuff!" Shukaku exclaimed in embarrassment.
"It's hilarious and adorable; I mean come on, you used to make sand castles for your sister. If that isn't cute, I don't know what is," Temari said with a laugh.
"Well I'm glad to see you're enjoying making fun of me," he muttered with a pout.
"You're the one who thinks he perfected the art of giving a massage, it's only fair that I laugh at you" she replied.
"I did perfect it!" he exclaimed.
"Sure you did, have you ever done it to anyone?" she asked jokingly.
"Well duh, how do you think I perfected it? I even found out how to relax the people I was practicing on to the point where they couldn't even feel the pain from me removing their skin," he answered casually.
Temari's eyes widened and she looked at Shukaku in horrified curiosity. "You skinned people?" she asked fearfully.
"I had to figure out where all the muscles were somehow," Shukaku answered nonchalantly.
"You mean you actually killed people, just for that?" she asked quietly, the blood draining from her face.
Temari had fully expected Shukaku to give another casual answer; she did not expect him to start laughing hysterically while pointing at her.
"You should see your face, I didn't think I could scare you that much!" he exclaimed before continuing with his laughing fit.
Temari just sat there in surprise. She had been tricked, by Shukaku no less, and now he was laughing at her much the same way she had been laughing at him. It would have been funny had it been anyone else, but Temari didn't like being the target of a joke. She narrowed her eyes in anger and reared her fist back before throwing it at Shukaku's head.
Without even a pause in his laughter, Shukaku caught her fist and jabbed two fingers into the inside of her elbow. Temari's arm went limp and pulsed with an indescribable feeling of pleasure and relaxation, causing her to gasp and moan slightly at the sensation.
"What did you just do to my arm?" she asked with a heavy breath.
"That is how I perfected giving a massage; I send a pulse of my chakra through your coils and directly into your muscles, relaxing them from the inside out. How did it feel?" he asked with a cocky grin.
Temari wanted to say it was horrible, she wanted to scream at him and tell him it felt disgusting, but she just couldn't do it.
"It felt amazing," she said quietly.
"Would you like me to continue?" he asked with a smile.
She didn't respond straight away, choosing instead to think over her options, which were somewhat limited at the moment. She could refuse and simply be happy with the wonderful sensation that was still pulsing through her arm, or she could accept and possibly drown herself in relaxation. The dull throbbing in her head didn't help either; it didn't take long for her to choose the latter.
"Fine" she answered quickly.
Shukaku leaned over and poked her forehead, causing Temari's whole body to suddenly go limp and drop to the floor with a light thud. He smiled contently and leaned back into the couch; it seemed he would get a few hours of peace and quiet after all.
