Homecoming and Prank Wars

Chapter 29

Shikamaru gasped, "You want me to propose to you?!"

Tayuya grinned, "I thought you'd never ask! Of course I'll marry you!"

"B-b-b-b-but . . ."

Tayuya threw her arms around him, "I knew it! I'm so #! happy!"

Shikamaru didn't know what to say . . . "S-s-so. You said you wanted music at the wedding . . .?"

...

Kankurou stopped in mid-stride and did a double-take, "It couldn't be . . ."

But it was.

Walking down the street, hand-in-hand, laughing, were Temari and Kotaro. "Oh, hi, Kitty." Temari grinned, "What's wrong, cat got your tongue?"

Kotaro paled, "Kankurou-Sama, it's not . . ."

Temari grinned, "Don't worry, my uke brother won't beat you up."

Kankurou's left eye began to twitch in annoyance, and he blushed deep crimson beneath his face-paint as Kotaro fought to keep from laughing at his boss. Temari, however, had no such restraint, "Oh, look! He's even got that cute, helpless uke blush!"

Kankurou snarled, "You know what she did to her last boyfriend, don't you?" Temari's eyes widened in shock, then she looked away. "I'm sorry, Temari . . ." Kankurou felt guilty about bringing the subject back up, but he'd lost his temper.

"No, it's true, isn't it . . ." Temari sighed.

"I know," Kotaro said softly, "And I can defend myself pretty well . . ."

He smiled and put an arm around her. "Temari, I'm sorry, I just lost my temper, I'm just tired of being treated like something less than a man, ya' know, jan . . ."

Temari nodded, "I'm good at making guys feel like that, aren't I?"

"It's not your fault, our whole family is screwed up, jan." He smiled, "We'll just have to make sure our kids have a better childhood than we did, jan."

Kotaro grinned, "Kids, huh? What do you think, little summoners or little fan-wielders?"

"HEY! Aren't you getting ahead of yourself?!" Kankurou shook a fist at him, "That's my sister you're talking about, jan!"

"Oh, don't listen to him, Kotaro!" Temari turned and kissed him passionately, "See, he's just a teddy bear . . . You're still alive, right?"

"I'm not sure . . ."

Kankurou shook his head and walked on, Hana was expecting him to be home, undressed and in bed by the time she got home from the vet's office. . .

Poor whipped uke.

...

Maki fairly threw himself into bed, a nice, warm, soft bed. Finally home. He stretched out and settled into his pillow. They'd trekked two days through the desert and another through the jungles of Amegakure. Between the heat of Suna days, the freezing cold of it's nights, and Ame's perpetual rain, his wooden puppets were in serious danger of cracking or warping, despite the coating of protective coating. He'd have to check them over carefully in the morning. He also wanted to practice some of the new techniques he'd learned from Kankurou.

...

Zaku smirked and gave Kin the thumbs up, then crept over to the sleeping Eiji. He grinned and picked up his first right hand, and sprayed a thick clump of shaving cream into his palm. Zaku then reached up and began tickling him behind the ear. Eiji grumbled in his sleep and began to raise his hand, then shoved it in Zaku's face. Eiji smiled and sat up as Kin broke out laughing.

"You look good like this, Zaku."

Zaku wiped the cream from his face, "Don't you ever sleep?!"

"No. Remember that if you try to prank me again."

Zaku frowned, then smirked, and sprayed a good amount of shaving cream onto Eiji's face. "HA! I got you!"

Kin began laughing loudly, risking waking everyone in the house.

"Very funny, runt." Eiji wiped the mess from his face. "Hey, I just realized something," Eiji grinned, "Kin doesn't have any shaving cream on her face yet . . ."

Kin ran . . .

The next morning,

Kidoumaru sped through the forest, flashing through the treetops. He had no set destination, he just wanted to get out and enjoy himself. The air was cold, clear and refreshing, and everything was covered in a thin lair of snow.

"What are you doing?"

Kidoumaru nearly fell from the tree he was in, "What the . . .?"

Kimimaro sat crossed legged on a large, fallen tree, "I came out here to think. Konoha is a loud place, I need solitude sometimes."

Kidoumaru leaned against a tree, "I wanted to get out and move, I don't see how Shikamaru can lay around all the time, why sit in the locker room while everyone else goes to the game?"

"You have an astute way of looking at things, even if you do act like a buffoon."

Kidoumaru gave a mocking pout, 'A buffoon?' Me? That's not nice." He shook his head, "You really need to learn to let your hair down and enjoy yourself, there's more to life than brooding and killing and brooding about killing."

"To your life, perhaps, but not mine. I've been raised to fight and kill since the day I was born, I've never been 'normal'."

"You sound like Sai. You know Sai, don't you, vampire-pale, black hair, wears a half-shirt, doesn't understand emotions . . ."

"I understand emotions, loyalty, rage, hatred . . . Disappointment."

"But you do have friends. There's Juugo, for one. He actually looks up to you, instead of just being terrified of you like most of the rest of us."

Kimimaro smiled thinly, "If you're terrified of me, why are you still here?"

"Because I'm a buffoon. I actually think I'd like to see you happy. Not ripping your enemies' spines out through their butts happy, but enjoying life. It sure as Hell would make most of our lives better, not worrying about you going nuts and killing everyone."

"You've always hated me, Kidoumaru. And I had no love for you, either, we gladly would have killed each other given the chance, so why do you care about me now?"

Kidoumaru shrugged, "Beats me. I guess it's because we're all from the same place, and we're all outsiders here. A lot of good people here are willing to give us a chance and accept us, but there are still people who hate us. And we can forget about ever going back to Otogakure, pardon or not. We have to stick together to survive.."

"You have a point, but people don't change that easily."

"Nobody ever said it was easy."

To be continued . . .