Chapter Thirteen
Temari shook her head with disbelief. Her brother, her formerly homicidal baby brother, was seen in the most girlish store in all of the hidden villages and left with a teddy bear!
Kankuro just smiled and nodded as he pulled her away from the helpful gossiping females.
"You all right, Tem?" He asked as soon as they were out of ear shot.
She visibly shook herself, "He hasn't carried a teddy bear, since . . ."
"Yeah," he agreed as he silently finished the sentence, not since Uncle Yashamaru.
"He's never going to recover if she betrays him," her jaw hardened, "We have to talk to her, Kankuro."
"Calm down, Temari, let's find out the whole story before we jump to conclusions-" Kankuro was almost knocked off his feet as a large dog suddenly dashed between his legs.
Temari let out a surprised yelp as a hand darted in and pulled hard on the sash around her waist. It might not have been so bad if she hadn't been distracted, she might have even been able to thwart the initial attack, but, damn it all, she was and could do nothing. She spun as the cloth was sash was forcefully yanked away. She might have still been okay if the large dog hadn't darted in and snagged the second sash.
Kankuro caught himself before he could do something as mundane as fall and looked up just in time to see his sister's clothes fall off.
**
"Lord Kazekage," Neji greeted politely as if the kage wasn't carting around his cousin like so much luggage, "Lady Hinata."
"Neji," she squirmed and was reluctantly put down, "Did you need something?"
Gaara stared at him coldly from over her shoulder.
"Lord Hiashi has sent me to formally invite you and your siblings to dinner tonight at the Hyuuga Compound," Neji turned to Hinata, "Your father has requested your presence."
Hinata paled, her father was inviting . . . That meant . . .
"I will escort her," Gaara linked arms with her, his tone firm and unyielding. "She will be home shortly."
Neji bowed swiftly and disappeared into the trees.
"Oh no," Hinata broke, "Gaara-"
"It will be fine," he pulled her forward, "I will make sure my intentions are clear."
"B-but-" Hinata sputtered, intentions?!!
"Hinata," he gripped her chin and pulled her around to meet his determined eyes, "You are mine for the next three days. No one will keep you from me if I can help it and there is very little in this world that can sway me."
He watched the knowledge sink into her eyes with a sense of satisfaction and leaned in close so he could breathe into her ear.
"We have an arrangement and I intend to hold my end," he closed his eyes and laid his head on her shoulder, "I would suggest you do the same."
He stepped away then and escorted her without incident to her family home. They nodded their goodbyes, he handed her the teddy bear, and then she made her way stealthily to her room.
She closed the door, stepped into her bathroom, and quickly started to hyperventilate.
Oh god, what was she going to do? She should have known better than to ever get involved with him! She should have never agreed to his schemes! And above all, she should have never allowed him to touch her!
Her skin burned where he had touched her and she was mildly surprised to find her skin unblemished.
She forced herself to take long steady breaths.
Don't freak, she ordered herself, he just got a little carried away. He didn't mean it the way he sounded.
She rested her forehead against the mirror, cooling her flushed features. She didn't even know why she acting like this . . . It wasn't the first time he had given her an implied threat so it couldn't be that. He had been upper handed with her before and that had just annoyed her so. . .
Maybe it was the possessiveness.
A chill ran up her back at the thought and she fought the accompanying shiver.
"Well, I guess that only makes sense," she mumbled and rubbed her face tiredly.
She was getting in too deep and he was getting way too comfortable touching her, though . . . She had to admit it was kind of . . . Nice. Especially when the boy she really had liked never noticed her beyond a quick hi.
She paused and picked up the bear off the ground. She hadn't even realized she had dropped it.
She frowned and her heartbeat stilled as she really looked at the toy.
This was the true Gaara. Sweet, vulnerable, and extremely dangerous all wrapped up in an appealing package.
He was also resigned to being alone.
"You do not wish to date?" She inhaled sharply, "I mean, pretend to date?"
Steady green eyes met hers, "It is more people do not wish to date me. They want to date the Kazekage, not the monster."
She tilted her head, "You're not a monster, Gaara, and, besides, you've changed since then."
"People have long memories," his eyes never moved from her face, "and, yes, I was."
Gaara's matter of fact tone echoed in her head as she frowned harder. True, he was bit more intense than was probably healthy but otherwise he was one of the most thoughtful people who would never dream of overstepping his bounds.
She took one last deep breath and left her room.
It was time to face her father.
**
Gaara enter his suite and narrowly avoided getting impaled by a kunai.
All screams stopped as his siblings froze and Gaara absently took in their respective positions.
Kankuro was on top of their sister, pinning her face down on the carpet though he had relented a bit and gave her enough leeway to look up at him. Temari was pale and she clutched a kunai in a white knuckled grip.
"What happened?" He demanded.
Kankuro reluctantly got off of her and Temari leaped to her feet as she secreted the kunai on her person.
Gaara waited.
"It's nothing, Gaara, don't concern yourself," Temari straightened her clothes.
Kankuro snorted, "Right, and I wasn't stopping her from starting a war."
Temari stiffened as their little brother narrowed his eyes.
"I told you I wasn't going after the Inuzuka!" she snarled, "I just need to beat some sense into a stupid male who doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut!"
"Right," Kankuro turned to Gaara, "Kiba and his dog managed to strip Temari in the street."
"Almost strip," she protested and then forced a calm tone, "It is not how it sounds."
Gaara crossed his arms and waited.
"Temari roughed up the dog boy this morning and he got his revenge on her," the puppeteer avoided an angry swipe, "She needs to let this go before it becomes a diplomatic incident."
"I don't want him!" She crossed her arms, "I want Shikamaru!"
"Shikamaru? Why would he . . ." Kankuro was confused and then fire lit his eyes, "I'll kill him!"
"Like hell you will!" She stepped into his path.
"Enough."
Years of self preservation kicked in and they immediately separated only to glare at each other.
"Kankuro, Temari's business is her own," Gaara continued before she could do more than flash a triumphant look, "Temari, we will discuss your marriage to the Nara later."
"What?!" She squawked.
"Now, Gaara," Kankuro lifted his hands in a 'I'm harmless' gesture, "Let's not be too hasty."
Gaara didn't pay either of them any attention as he headed to his room to change into fresh clothes.
"Oh, one more thing," he paused in the doorframe, "The Hyuugas have invited us to dinner. We will be leaving in an hour or so."
He stepped into his room and shut the door.
There was a mad scramble for the bathroom.
**
"You summoned me, father," she met her father's gaze steadily.
"I have heard some rather interesting rumors of late," Lord Hiashi regarded his daughter sternly, "Care to shed some light on them?"
Her gaze flicked to the side nervously and then steadied, "What have you heard?"
The left corner of his mouth lifted minutely, indicating amusement and approval.
"I have heard you've somehow captured the interest of the Kazekage."
"Is that what Neji told you?" She remained impassive.
"Your cousin has voiced some concerns," he acknowledged her guess with a nod, "Are you saying Neji's observations are false?"
"I didn't say they were false or correct," she pointed out, "Merely that it was Neji who told you."
Her father nodded again, "He did though he was not the first."
She blinked.
"Some of the elders have voiced her congratulations on my luck, after all, not every father can say his daughter has a Kazekage for a suitor."
She paled, "Is that right?"
"Do not be coy, Hinata," Lord Hiashi smiled, "You have managed to bag the most eligible bachelor in all of the hidden villages. You should be proud."
"I wouldn't say bagged, father," she protested.
"Of course, you're right, he's not bagged quite yet. That's why I have invited him to dinner."
"Father?"
"Do not worry, Hinata, I will have him sorted before he leaves tonight," his pale eyes narrowed in anticipation.
"We shouldn't push him," she wrung her hands, "It's not what you think-"
"Subtlety is the key?" Lord Hiashi raised a brow, "I will keep that in mind. Go get ready, Hinata."
She leaned forward to protest when he leveled a mild glare at her.
"Yes, father," she complied and tried not to think about how this was all going to turn out.
**
Shikamaru frowned as he glanced at the clock on the wall. Temari should have been here by now.
He let out an irritated sigh as he reclined back onto the couch. He had thought for sure she would make a beeline to him after she realized it was him who had slipped the inside information to Kiba.
It was all so troublesome, he concluded, he should never have gotten involved.
"Shikamaru?! Are you in?"
The lazy genius had popped up from a dead sleep with an annoyed frown on his face. It wasn't very often he got a day off where no one was pestering him to hang out, have lunch, or any other sort of troublesome activities.
Today was supposed to be one of those days.
He opened his door to glare at the disturber of his peace, "What do you want, Kiba?"
"I want to know why you're dating the Sand bitch!"
He yawned and squinted at the dog ninja, "What did Temari do now?"
"Do?" Kiba stiffened, "Why would you think that? I just wanted to know her appeal, I mean, she's like a dude with boobs!"
"Boobs?"
"Come on, man, focus! What is your girlfriend, Temari's, appeal?" Kiba ignored Akamaru's whines.
Shikamaru's eyes sharpened suddenly, "She sets up her clothing so all I have to do is pull two sashes and they all fall off."
Kiba blinked, "Really, well, damn. Maybe you do have good taste after all… So the sash around her waist-"
"And the one hidden beneath it," the genius nodded.
"All right, well, see you later, Shikamaru," Kiba took off with Akamaru at his heels.
The Nara snorted and shut the door. He stretched and let a lazy smile cross his face.
Honestly, could Kiba have been any more obvious? Of course Temari had done something to piss off Kiba, he might as well as shouted it when he stiffened. Then the Inuzuka had come to the one person who would have any inside information on her besides her brothers, who would never betray her, her boyfriend who if caught in the right sleepy state might accidentally spill something useful.
If it wasn't such a drag to get dressed then he might have bothered to follow Kiba just to see the look on her face when he struck.
Shikamaru yawned again as he settled on the couch to wait for her angry entrance and precede to give him the lecture of a lifetime.
Which he would mostly tune out.
Then, when she started to run out of steam, he would play the injured party and shrug.
Exasperated, she would ask, demand, why he had given out such personal information.
He wouldn't look at her and state exactly how long she had been in Leaf.
She would realize guiltily that she hadn't taken the time to visit him and then get mad all over again.
Eventually, they would make up and, possibly, have sex depending how mad she actually was or maybe she would wear her most complicated piece of clothing and dare him to take it off . . .
All in all, he would get a visit, stimulating conversation, quality time with his girlfriend, possibly sex, and he didn't even have to leave his apartment.
He frowned, only Temari hadn't come. He doubted Kiba had the patience to wait more then a few hours before implementing his plan and, even if on the off chance, Kiba had waited till nightfall, Temari would have wasted no time charging over.
An unexpected variable must have popped up, he concluded, and the only thing that could sway an angry Temari was Gaara.
He arched a brow and if it was something with Gaara then maybe the rumors about him and Hinata held some truth, however, if the rumor about them being in a relationship was true then there had to be more to it. A hidden agenda . . .
The only thing they really had in common was Naruto . . .
Shikamaru frowned, no, that couldn't be right . . . Unless . . .
He hummed to himself, he need more information before he could make any solid conclusions.
"Where the hell is Temari?" He grumbled.
End Chapter
AN: Wow, you guys are truly too kind. I'm just glad you like my story and hope you guys stay with me for the long haul though it looks like things are going to get exciting! Next time on Grains of Sand, the Sand Sibs are invited for dinner! Will Hiashi be able to corner Gaara into marrying Hinata? Wait a minute, who's head of the family?! Say something Neji!