The day finally came - Shikamaru cursed himself as he waited at the gates.

"It was only appropriate for you to greet the Princess's brother, after all, you saved her life."

His father mused as he sat at the table; the older man stared at him peculiarly.

It was awfully early in the morning, the sun shone weakly at the streets of the city, hawkers had just began to arrange their stalls for business, mothers with their children strapped on their backs walked around, looking for fresh food for today's meals. Soldiers patrolled around, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

Well, me being up in the morning is out of the ordinary, he thought to himself, hoping that the sarcastic thought would cheer him up.

He sighed as the attempt failed, his mind darting somewhere else.

Her.

They spent the whole night together – he told his parents that he was staying at the Royal Library to read up on some matter, a statement that stunned his mother.

They sat on the veranda of her house, looking at the moon that hung above the small courtyard – it was a half-moon.

"This half is me," she pointed to the white moon that hung on the sky, and then to the other side engulfed in darkness.

"And the other side is you."

Shikamaru smiled at her, bemused. "Why?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Temari arched an eyebrow as she leaned onto his shoulder, her hand holding his that was slung over her shoulder.

"I am the bright light, and you are the shadow." Her eyelashes batted as she blinked, fluttering like delicate butterflies. "We are inseparable, light and shadow."

"For if there's you, I shall be there too." He pressed a kiss onto her forehead, she chuckled softly and looked back up at the stars.

The bubble in his mind bursted as the soldier called his name.

"Young Lord Nara, the Suna entourage has arrived."

He sucked his teeth as he gently nudged his horse forward. Temari had told him about this Kankuro, agitated, not quite bright as an individual, but nevertheless easy to handle…

He stopped in front of the leading man – his eyes widened in equal surprise and confusion.

This is not Kankuro.

This is the King of Suna.

Gaara of the Sand Waterfall.

"Your Majesty." He dipped his head, cursing his awful luck.

This is going to be troublesome.

"Rise." His voice was as cold as ice; one would be more convinced that this man was born from the frozen hilltops rather than the scorching desert.

He raised his head, the red-haired man's eyes bored into his dark brown ones, they were teal in colour – Shikamaru studied his face, he bore some resemblance to his sister, but much, much colder. The burning red letter atop his forehead added even more to the confusion – how could someone as cold as him put the letter 'love' on his forehead?

"We were not expecting you, Your Majesty," he began. "If we were, the receiving party would have been much more…" The King stopped him with a raising hand.

"This would be sufficient." His eyes were fixated upon him. "You are Nara Shikamaru."

It was not a question.

"Yes I am." He replied, his brilliant mind running through two hundred possible ideas of what he wants from him.

"You saved my sister." He nodded at him. "I wish to thank you for that."

He tried to think of a good response, but the King gently kicked his horse; his entourage followed as a dumbfounded Shikamaru was left standing.

"Bring me to my sister," Gaara ordered, his voice was still cold, yet it was coated with authority. Shikamaru nodded and kicked his horse; the beast jumped a little as it began to gallop slightly, clearing the way for the Suna King and his men.

Temari waited patiently, she could hear the commotion outside her house.

The steps began to hasten, she took a deep breath as the sliding door opened.

She lunged forwards and hug the man, only to realize that he was significantly shorter than Kankuro, the man was level headed with her – she parted, and saw no one but her little brother, the King, his eyes slightly widened – apparently stunned by her sudden assault.

"You…I was expecting Kankuro, Your Majesty."

Gaara went inside and sat down next to the table. Temari observed him for a few seconds before sitting down with him.

"Why did you come?" She asked anxiously. "Did anything happen to Kankuro?"

"I just wanted to travel." He said, shaking his head. "To see for myself what a strong country should look like – Konoha is strong."

"Ah, you left Kankuro in charge?" Temari shuddered at the thought. "Are you sure… it will be fine?"

"It will be," his eyes darkened. "A lot has happened since your incident."

"Tell me everything." A glint of determination lit up in her eyes, her hands busied themselves by pouring tea.

She listened as Gaara spoke, frowning slightly as she processed everything.

"So you are saying that Isamu and his entire family was executed." Temari said. "It was him who planned to assassinate me?"

"Maybe." He said emotionlessly. "He was the most likely culprit, even if it wasn't him, I had to make an example out of someone – he was destined to die."

Temari flinched a little. "And what had become of the country now?"

"Iwa had surrendered under the joint attacks with Konoha, we got some land and other things out of the war," he said. "Everyone is afraid of me, Keeping the country stable for the time being."

"But now you are here," Temari stated. "Wouldn't they…?"

"Kankuro will pacify them, he was the good one out of us two, charitable, loved," he glanced at the teacup and licked his lips. "Just like father."

Temari studied her brother's face, it appeared to her that nothing had changed – his skin was still porcelain-like, his eyes still teal like the cliff emeralds in Suna, his hair the colour of blood – but something has changed about him, deep within … she was not sure whether he had become colder, or had he learned new emotions other than emptiness.

What he had just said sounded like jealously – an emotion that she never knew he had.

"With you back in Suna," he broke the brief moment of silence. "The people would rejoice. After all," he paused for a while, turning his teal eyes upon her. "You are Father's lioness." His icy gaze was constant.

Temari was stunned – she had not been called that since her father had passed away, no one but her father calls her 'lioness'. She felt a chill down her spell even though Gaara maintained his icy voice.

Had Gaara harboured such a grudge against Kankuro and her, for all this time?

She does not blame him, but it was somewhat devastating to only know her brother so little.

He might have been a monster, but it is often easy to forget that he is also human.

"I shall remain, before the Council can strike a good bargain to marry me off somewhere." She sneered, putting down her cup.

"I am gradually dismissing the Council," Gaara said, causing Temari to flinch again.

"That would certainly lead to civil war, Gaara," said Temari, her eyes widening in horror of her own imagination.

"So be it," he said coldly, Temari noticed a strange, almost distorted smile on Gaara's face. "Let there be blood, let there be despair…"

"You can't rule by oppression, Gaara." Temari said plainly. "You will eventually push people over the edge, even a great warrior like you, even Shukaku, cannot stand up against a country – not when everyone was determined to destroy you."

Gaara stared at her, his hard, cold gaze gradually softening. "I don't know how to."

He proceeded to move his hand to his chest, where his heart was. "I can't feel anything, except when a man's life end in my hands, his despair, his grieve, it fills a hole here…"

Temari said nothing but listened, she was almost amazed by how Gaara suddenly opened up. Her brother, a merciless, bloodthirsty monster, the tyrant King of Suna, was crumbling into pieces in front of her.

"What do you know of loneliness?" He clutched the cloth on his chest forcefully, creasing the fabric in his hand. "There is a hole here, no matter what I do, it always aches – I thought I could fill it in with more blood, more lives on my hands … but I can't. I tried to build relationships with others, but no one dared to approach me, let alone love me…" He took a deep breath before he made his final declaration.

"There is no one who loves me apart from myself, I am truly 'the demon who only loves itself.'" The young man even laughed a little, his laugh cold and haunting, as he pressed hardly against his forehead.

Temari reached over, and pressed her hand onto his, he jerked his head and stared at her confused. "We all love you, Kankuro and I."

Temari stared at the half full cup in front of her, retracting her hand; she quickly pulled out her hairpin, and pierced the tip of her finger.

Gaara stared, as she dripped a drop of blood into the teacup, two drops, three drops.

The crimson droplet entered the tea, maintaining its form inside the foreign liquid.

"You see, three drops of blood, the three of us – blood is always thicker than water." Temari smiled at him. "You will be a good King, Gaara, you just have to learn."

Gaara stared amazed, taking the cup in his hand; he drank the entire content without hesitation. Then he stood up, and walked out of the door without another word.

Shikamaru entered after Gaara had left, he took a seat next to her.

"Your brother said he was going to meet Queen Tsunade, and told me that there is no need to accompany him," he said, arching an eyebrow. "Is everything alright?"

Temari smiled painfully. "He is growing up."

She stared at the empty cup and sighed thoughtfully.

Hinata walked in the street, dressed in the plainest kimono she could find in her vast wardrobe.

Her father had went to meet the King of Suna in the palace, and she took the liberty of leaving the mansion, away from the watchful eye of her servants.

It has been long since she smelled the air of freedom, she ventured along the streets, stopping at vendors to browse their merchandise, and finally, she ended up in the place where she would find that special someone who had always been on her mind.

The Training Yard, right outside the Palace – where young noble men like her cousin Neji would train, day in and day out.

A dash of blonde seemed to light up the gloomy day, as she stared at the young man running towards his master, he managed to muster a clone beside him, his duplicate forming a glowing blue orb; his master stood there, awaiting him to charge.

With a roar, he lunged forward, the clone dissipating, he pressed the orb onto his master, the man disappeared into a piece of log, as the orb contacted; the wood began to crack, in a split second, it turned into dust, the energy swirling around caused an indent crater on the ground where the man's hand has landed.

"Pretty good," the master waved his long spiky white hair as he emerged from somewhere, his hand holding an ice Popsicle, he broke it into two and handed one to the young man. "You are improving, Naruto."

His face broke into a wide grin, so bright it almost blinded Hinata, who was watching from the spectator stand.

He was her light – the one who found her when she was lost, and guided her home.

That snowy night, she remembered.

No one noticed when she disappeared from her uncle's funeral, she wandered and wandered … until she found herself in the middle of nowhere.

She crouched down, holding her knees like a ball, she sobbed softly.

She stayed still; a thin layer of snow began to cover her shoulders when a warm hand rested upon her shoulder.

She turned as he milky violet eyes landed on a pair of oceanic blue eyes.

She whimpered as he crouched down, looking at her eye to eye.

"Are you alright?" He smiled at her warmly. Holding out his hand, he grinned. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I can help you!"

She hesitantly reached out her hand, as he took it firmly and helped her up.

She remembered the warmth of his hand, his smile, and following him made her felt safe.

The two young children walked to the gates of the Hyuga Mansion, the servants widened their eyes, too frightened to approach.

"Hinata-sama," they whispered. "Come now, it is very dangerous."

"What is dangerous?" The servants glanced at the blonde boy who was holding her hand.

Hinata looked around, confused as one of the servants came and pulled her away from him.

"What is your name?" He cried as she was pulled away, further and further away from him.

"Hinata!" She cried, wondering if he heard her.

She caught a last glimpse of him as the grand doors of the mansion shut behind her.

She was so caught in her own thought, until she realized that she was not alone.

"Hinata-san?" A clear voice called her name, as she turned around, she saw Sakura, one of her play mates back in her childhood times. The pink-haired girl smiled at her with a wave.

She greeted her with a warm smile, and saw the physician holding a book in her hand.

"Why are you here?" Sakura turned her head and looked down into the arena. "Came to see Naruto?"

Hinata turned still, her face blushing madly as she said nothing. Sakura could not help herself but laugh softly at the scene, suddenly her eyes widened as she looked away towards Hinata's back.

"You are Lady Hyuga?" A nonchalant, cold voice rang behind her, she gasped as she turned around.

A dark, cold-looking young man stared her straight in the eye with his dark eyes. A somewhat strange smile hung on his handsome but cold face.

"Yes," she said softly, dipping her head politely. "Lord Uchiha."

"Sasuke-kun, it's nice to see you." Sakura smiled at him sweetly, only to receive a cold audience from the man.

The dark-eyed man seemed to only have eyes for the white-eyed girl.

Sakura pouted a little, and smiled at Hinata. "Well, if you did come to see Naruto, you should at least say hi to him, come on!" She took her hand by her own free hand, and began to move away. "See you around, Sasuke-kun."

The man uttered a grunt, before walking away, disappearing back into the darkness.

Sakura led her down to the entrance of the arena and waited as Naruto and his master walked out of the gate.

"Jiraya-sama! Naruto!" She waved at them cheerfully.

The older man nodded at them and walked away after speaking to Naruto for a brief moment. Naruto walked up to them with a grin on his face.

The grin that Hinata longed to see, everyday and night.

She froze as he came closer, greeting both of them.

"Sakura-chan! You have come to see me! How was it, how was it, was I brilliant?" He started to talk endlessly, Sakura frowned at him as she landed a punch on his shoulder.

"Ow! What did you hit me for?" He complained, as Sakura cleared her throat and pointed at Hinata.

"It's really impolite to ignore someone," Sakura sighed as she pressed a hand on her forehead. "Anyway, I am needed at the Queen's chambers, Naruto, make sure you escort Hinata back to her place."

Sakura waved at them before leaving the two of them alone.

Hinata began to fidget her fingers, her eyes fixated onto the ground.

"Hinata, why are you here today?" Naruto's voice softened a little, he became a bit more composed, that she noticed.

Sometimes she was jealous of Sakura for being on such good terms with Naruto. "I…I came to," she could not form the words. She wanted to tell him, with all her heart, but it appeared that her tongue was tied.

"Well, I can't let you go home alone, come with me." Naruto grinned at her, before taking a few steps.

Noticing that she was not following, he walked back towards her side, and gently, he took her hand in his.

"Come on," he said softly, Hinata went entirely red as his skin came into contact with hers. As he gently pulled, she followed him, and walked towards the stables.

Hinata felt like she was reliving her childhood memory, her favourite memory with her favourite person.

Naruto gently held her by the waist as he helped her up the horse.

"Sit tight," he grinned as he hopped on, his arms surrounding her as he grab hold of the reins. Hinata nodded, as he reined the horse and urged it to trot forward.

Hinata nervously tugged onto the horse's mane; Naruto laughed at the sight.

"You are going to hurt it if you hold on so hard," Naruto grinned at her, she bashfully lowered her head, and softly she apologized.

"I am sorry, Naruto-kun, to cause you all these trouble…"

"Hinata," she looked up and saw him looking at her warmly with his blue eyes, those mesmerizing eyes that seemed to reflect her own face from the depths of the ocean; she stared.

"Come on, don't be so scared, my riding skills aren't that bad," he laughed a little before grining at her. "But… you can hold onto me if you are scared."

She hesitantly wrapped her arms around his neck, her head close to his neck, her chest touching his; as the horse trotted forward, she wished that she could just freeze this moment, that he would carry her forever.

He took her to the backdoor of the mansion, after leaping down from his horse, he held her by the waist, and helped her down.

Time froze that moment when he looked into her violet eyes; his hands remained on her waist, her hands stayed atop his shoulders.

He swallowed, as she looked away; his hands leaving her waist, he laughed dryly.

"Well," he hopped back onto the horse. "I guess I will see you again."

Hinata nodded and smiled at him with a pink hue on her face.

"Ah, and if you want to," he said, smiling at her. "The next time you come to the arena, you can sit closer." He left before grining at her one last time.

Hinata felt that there were butterflies dancing in her stomach, she weakly approached the door and knocked.

The servant who manned the door cleared his throat. "Who is it?"

"It is I." She said softly.

The door swung open, as the servant dipped his head towards her. His face was covered in horror.

"My Lady, you better come quickly, My Lord is furious." He said in a hushed voice, as he urged Hinata to go to the living hall of the mansion.

As she entered, she saw her servant, battered, lying on the ground and gasping for breath.

She covered her mouth in horror, speechless to the scene.

Her sister Hanabi was here, she looked at the scene; the girl was slightly frightened, apparent from her expression; her cousin was also here, Neji stared with a frown.

"So you have finally returned?" Her father demanded, as she began to fall on her knees.

"Father, please spare her," Hinata said. "I didn't tell her that I was going out, it is my fault, punish me if you have to."

Hiashi laughed coldly. "Punish you, no my daughter," he sneered. "You are the heiress to the Hyuga clan, how can the cane meet your delicate flesh? No, when you make a mistake, your servant shall take it for you."

He shot a cold glance at the two standing youngsters. "The same goes for both of you." He shot a glance at Neji, who tried to ignore his gaze.

"Take a good long look, Hinata," Hiashi sneered again. "This time it will be her, the next time it will be two servants, then four… "

Hinata said nothing as Hiashi ordered two other servants to help her up, holding her by her arms; her face was covered in tears, she sobbed silently.

"Escort the lady back to her room." Hiashi ordered coldly as he left the hall. "Make sure she stays there."

Neji said nothing as he returned to his room; he noticed that Tenten was here, cleaning the room for him. She dipped her head at him, as he closed the sliding door of his room.

It was a show, not only meant for Hinata, but everyone – including him.

He turned to look at Tenten, still anxiously wiping off the dust from his cabinets.

"Tenten," he called her name. "Come sit down, I wanted to talk to you."

The message was clear, he thought to himself as Tenten approached and sat down. If he dared to disobey him, not only he will be punished, so will Tenten.

No wonder his uncle had him moved back here, and had Tenten be his servant.

That sinister old man knows how to play one's weakness to his own advantage.

"Yes, Neji-sama?" Tenten poured him a cup of tea.

"When we're in private, just call me Neji." He said as he took a sip from the cup. "I had a lot of questions for you, since we haven't met for a long time."

Tenten nodded. "Right, you've been gone for so long."

"How did you end up here in the Hyuga mansion? With your blacksmithing skills, you could make a decent living." He remembered her making small trinkets for other children back when they were young.

Tenten looked at him with her watery brown eyes, and sighed softly.

"It all happened after you were gone, Neji." Tenten said, her eyes staring at him sadly.

Ever since her fahter's death, her mother and herself lived under the roof of the Hyuga Branch Family, taking care of the freshly orphaned Neji.

When he was old enough – at the tender age of twelve, he joined the army and marched to the borders.

The Hyugas banished the mother and daughter from the house, they stayed in a shack, worked odd jobs trying to sustain a living; they tried desperately to afford a place where Tenten could smith something in exchange for gold – but that day never came.

After a few painful years, Tenten's mother fell ill. Without any gold and no other place to go, she found herself kneeling on the ground in front of the Hyuga's housekeeper.

She begged on her knees, her forehead touching the ground for the snobbish woman to take her as a servant, so that her mother could afford to see a physician.

The housekeeper agreed, Tenten and her mother moved into the servant quarters of the Hyuga Mansion – Tenten tried to help her mother, but to no avail – after a few months and using up all the gold she got from selling herself, her mother left the world forever.

And now, here she was, serving the family to pay her debts.

"I am so sorry," Neji muttered, his hand resting on the table. "If I hadn't left then maybe…"

"Like what you always say Neji, perhaps it is all fate." Tenten smiled painfully at him. "Perhaps you were meant to be trained by the rough terrains at the borders, perhaps I was meant to be a servant…" She lowered her head.

"Perhaps," he said gently. "It is fate that I get to see a familiar, friendly face in this household." A soft smile hung on his face. "You have heard about Hinata's maid, haven't you?"

"I have," Tenten said, blinking. "How sad."

"I will never let that happen to you," Neji said determinedly. "I promise."

Tenten smiled back him warmly. "I know."

Neji sighed softly and looked at her with a tiny smile on his face. "Go on with your thing then."

Tenten nodded as she left the room to fetch another basin of water to clean with.

A smile hung on her face as she walked away.

Perhaps it was all fate, perhaps it was fate that I should see you again, that I should be here with you – just the way I wanted.

The sky was blue and clear, as the late autumn sun hung in the eastern sky.

It was early at the gates of Konoha, the Suna entourage was making its final preparations to depart and return to their homeland.

Temari sat in the carriage, it had been such a long time since she was dressed in her usual outfit, an altered kimono that allowed her to move around more easily, complete with a red obi sash across her waist, she placed her battle fan next to her, the cold metal glinting in the early morning sun rays.

"Your Highness, a Lord Nara has come to see you off." The soldier reported on the opposite side of the curtain.

Temari stood up, without hesitation; she leapt off the carriage and saw him there.

He was looking at her direction, dressed in his casual robes. He smiled at her as she approached him.

"I didn't get to see you last night, since your brother stayed with you." He said softly, he maintained his distance, as he glanced at the soldiers that looked at their direction.

"We have to be quick." Temari said in a hushed voice. "Or else they might get suspicious, and I might get out of control and kiss you."
Shikamaru laughed a little, as his eyes travelled down to the piece of jade dangling in front of her chest.

"I will never forget you," he said. "Temari."

"I trust you," she replied, smiling as she looked down at the panpipe he was holding in his hand.

She nodded at him one final time, before turning around.

Her graceful steps became hastened, and soon she found herself running and jumping back on the carriage.

As the men shouted, the carriage began to move, she turned back and peered through the curtains.

Shikamaru stood there, and stared. He held the panpipe near to his lips, as he began to play – it was the same piece that she played on that day, as the music reached her ears, she could not help herself but let the tears stream down her face.

She did not sob, she did not wail – tears streamed down her face in silent, as his shape became smaller and unclear.

He stopped playing once the carriage was out of sight, disappearing into the horizon.

He sighed as he turned around and leapt onto his horse. "Troublesome," he muttered as he wiped his moist eyes with the sleeve of his robes.

She was gone.

He does not know when he will see her again, or whether he will see her again…

Or if he could live until that time…

"Young Lord Nara, a summons from the Royal Court," a soldier came running up to him. "Queen Tsunade wants to see you right now."

"Right now?" He arched an eyebrow – the Queen is not usually such an early person, besides, why summon him? If it was strategies, it should be his father, not him.

"Yes, Lord Sarutobi is also summoned." He said hastily. "Please hurry."

Shikamaru kicked his horse, as it began to gallop towards the palace.

He traced the same path that he did that day, with Temari by his side.

The panpipe was safely fastened on his belt, it dangled against his thighs as the horse ran.

At this moment, uncertainty awaits him in the grand halls of the monumental structure, he had a bad feeling about this summons – but one thing was constant.

She was on his mind – always.

Always.

Author's note:

Another chapter! And new pairings and storyline coming up! :D (NaruHina is the canon couple, and there is a hint of Sasusaku so...:D)

I make Hiashi into such a bad guy in my stories lol (Neji's uncle)

Anyway, prepare for the continuation of the bittersweet journey in the coming near future :)

Read and Review! Enjoy xoxo

V.S.V