Kiba had been in a great mood this morning. Everything was shiny and bright and the weather was starting to give hints of Spring. It was the first week of April and despite the lingering mess of melting snow, warmth was starting to creep into Konoha and disperse what was left of the long winger.
The dog-ninja drew in a deep breath and imagined that he could taste both the cold of one season and the birth of the next. Kiba grinned as he headed out to meet with Sakura.
o.o.o.o.o
TenTen felt the displacement of air behind her even as she spun, weaponry at the ready. Blades flew and thunked into wall where Kankuro had just been standing.
From the corner of the room, the puppeteer whistled at the close call. "You missed." He teased, taking his life in his own hands.
"No I didn't." TenTen flashed a grin at him. "I wasn't aiming at you. I hit what I wanted to hit."
Kankuro's own grin grew as he looked back over at the quivering blades in the door. Two of them. Both neatly pinning his Bunraku headgear to the wall by the two 'cat' ears. "What have you got against my puppetry hood?"
TenTen walked over to him and grabbed his real ears, pulling his head down for a long drugging kiss. When she let him come up for air his eyes were glazed over. "I like having handles to hold on to when we kiss."
"I'll find you something better to hold on to." He rasped hoarsely, pulling her closer and leaving no doubt as to how much he'd missed her while out on this latest mission. His mouth found the sensitive part of her neck and TenTen about melted into the floor.
The knock on the door drew curses from them both as they sprang apart. Kankuro took one look at her face and handed her a piece of cloth, making gestures at her. TenTen eyed him and pointed toward the bathroom. "Your make-up is all over us both. You need to clean up as well and since it's my door they're knocking on …."
"Yah, yah." Grumbled the irate puppet user as he went to fix the smears on his face. "And it's NOT make-up!"
o.o.o.o.o
Hinata fairly flew around the corner, clearly in a hurry as she nearly fell over Akamaru.
"Whoa!" Kiba barked, reaching out to catch his teammate but she'd already righted her balance on her own. "In a hurry?" He snarled.
"I'm so sorry!" Hinata nodded before turning to leave, but something about her friend's demeanor had her stopping. "Kiba? Is something the matter?"
The Inuzuka shinobi growled, then let his shoulders slump. "Nah. No big deal. Sakura's mother is playing games again I guess. I don't really think Sakura would stand me up, I think her mother intercepted yet ANOTHER note."
"What do you mean?" Hinata asked hesitantly. "I don't understand how Sakura's mother couldn't like you. You're wonderful."
Kiba's expression softened as he grabbed his smaller teammate for a quick hug. She 'eeped' but then laughed and hugged him back. "Hinata, you are one of a kind. And I guess I owe you big. Sakura told me that it was you that put mine and Shino's names in the mix for the dating thing. You're the best, Hinata."
Never knowing how to take a compliment, the purple-haired kunoichi did as she usually did in such situations. She blushed.
"My day started out soooo great!" Kiba complained loudly, as was his wont. "It's just …Sakura …it's …ah hell, there's just too many secrets. And I'm just out in the cold."
Hinata went stiff. How had he found out about her and Chouji already?…"Kiba! It's not that I was hiding anything from you!" She gushed guiltily. "But Sakura didn't want me to tell you …though why she thought I would in the first place is a ….well!" Hinata flushed furiously. "What I do with …well, it's just none of your business!"
Kiba's eyes went wide as he backed up a step, holding up his hands to fend her off even though she wasn't making a move. "WHOA girl! What are you going on about? I'm just talking about Sakura and her mother. They're in this battle and I'm caught in the middle! Sakura's mom throws out my notes to her and gives her bad messages. Sakura then retaliates by buying the wrong things from the grocers and giving her mother fake notes from her friends. I even think she switched the sugar and salt containers on her mom right before baking day."
He paused as his brain caught up with what she'd been saying as Hinata sputtered and flushed even redder than before, then took off down the street in a big hurry. "Oi! Hinata! What were YOU talking about?" Kiba called after her, scratching his head. "Damn, I wonder what Hinata knows that Sakura doesn't want ME to find out?" He looked down at his nin-dog.
Akamaru 'woofed' and plopped down at his feet, uncaring.
Kiba groaned. "Big help you are." He sighed deeply and then looked back down at the big white dog at his feet. "No use hammering Hinata about this, let's go find the source."
o.o.o.o.o
TenTen opened her door with a bright smile, hoping she'd gotten off all traces of Kankuro's facial markings. Kissing a Suna puppeteer did have it's drawbacks! Especially when they were in full gear. "Good morning! Please don't tell me that I've misread the Academy schedule and that I'm late for a class?"
The Suna shinobi shook his head mutely, and for the life of her TenTen couldn't quite recall his name.
"We have a message for Kankuro." The man said with his thick Suna accent.
TenTen frowned. "Have you tried his apartment?" She asked a bit waspishly.
The guard shook his head. "No." He grinned and looked behind her. "This is important, we didn't have time to waste looking at his place."
TenTen sighed and stepped aside for him. "He just came over to give me a message."
"Of course he did." The guard gave her a small sympathetic look.
Sighing, the Leaf kunoichi knocked on the bathroom and told Kankuro to get out here, he had an important message. So much for trying to keep their relationship discrete. "Does everyone know where …"
The man shook his head quickly at her even as Kankuro entered the room, rubbing a towel over his freshly washed face.
TenTen frowned. The man was obviously lying. Did all of Suna know where Kankuro spent his nights? Damn.
o.o.o.o.o
Hinata grimaced at the full-length mirror. "I look like a child's doll."
Ino grinned. "That's the point. Besides, you make a gorgeous doll."
The purple-haired kunoichi frowned and tweaked the line of the heavy silk kimono. "I can't believe I folded like that on Sakura. Do you think Kiba will guess? I'm so awful."
"Don't! You'll ruin the line of the outfit." Ino scolded and swatted at Hinata's hands. "And you're not awful. Sakura can take care of herself, and it's not like you really could keep a secret like that from your own teammate."
"I don't know." Hinata chewed her bottom lip slightly as she sighed. "I should have just kept my mouth shut." She pulled at her obi again. "It's too tight."
"It's fine." Ino assured her. "You look beautiful!"
"I can't breathe!" Hinata said breathily, ignoring her blonde friend as she started pulling more strongly on the obi around her waist. "Get it off me!" She whimpered as she tugged on the expensive silk fabric.
Ino quickly helped Hinata strip out of the kimono, frowning herself now. After she carefully folded the pricy silk away in their boxes, she sighed. "Hinata?"
"I can't wear that." The other girl said softly, though defensively as she pointed a trembling finger at the boxes holding her betrothal outfit.
"Fine. You don't have to." Ino said calmly.
Hinata breathed out a sigh of relief.
"But it'll break Chouji's heart that you don't want to marry him." Ino said in a falsely off-hand manner, peeking at Hinata from the corners of her eyes.
Taking in a sharp breath, Hinata spun to face Ino. "I didn't say that!"
"So, you're going to elope then?" Ino said cheerfully. "Just say the word, Sakura and I will help. I'm sure we can rope in Kiba, though Shino is probably a stickler for the more traditional route."
Hinata's lungs began to ache as she realized suddenly that she was holding her breath. Letting out a deep gasp, she sat down on the bed, her mind whirling with the possibilities. Finally her shoulders slumped. "No. My father would …"
"Tell him to take a hike."
Hinata's pale-lavender eyes went wide, then she giggled suddenly as she envisioned Ino telling off the mighty Hyuuga clan leader. "You could probably do it, but I can't." She admitted, plucking at her dressing robe.
Ino sat down next to Hinata, putting one arm around her for a quick hug. "Either chuck it all and demand a wedding on your own terms, or deal with what you've got. The only other choice is not to get married." The blonde paused a moment before continuing. "Are you sure you want to get married now? You can wait, you know. Chouji would support your decision, I know he would."
Hinata sighed and shook her head. "No." She sat up straighter and reached for the boxes with her betrothal outfit. "No. I need to do this. Not because my father wants it, or even because Chouji's mother is over the moon about all the arrangements. I want to do this for me." She looked over at Ino pleadingly. "I love him."
"I know you do." Ino said softly. "But remember, you're the bride. This is all about you, not everyone else. Promise me, if there is something you feel you really can't do …tell them!"
Hinata nodded gamely and stood back up. "I can do this."
"Good." The blonde winked and grinned as she nodded toward her closet. "I've already got a dress for your betrothal party."
"Party?" Hinata wrinkled her nose at Ino playfully as she opened up the other girl's closet. "Call it what it is, a spectacle."
"A ball?"
"An inspection of the bride-to-be by everyone in the village." Hinata said snippily, then caught her breath. "Oh, Ino …it's beautiful!" She came out of the closet holding up the ice-blue gown, carrying it up high so the formal length wouldn't drag on the ground.
"Not as beautiful as yours." Ino grinned, "But I don't want anyone else to look better than me. You can, since it's your betrothal, but no one else!"
Hinata turned to hang the gown back up, then paused as something finally registered. Ino's closet had almost nothing in it. At least nothing hanging up. There were several full travel packs and even some luggage. She turned to the blonde, confused.
Ino blushed very slightly, making Hinata's eyes widen in surprise. She hadn't known the blonde to embarrass easily. "Ino?"
The mind-jutsu specialist just smiled.
Hinata's eyes grew huge as she leaned in to whisper, despite being alone in the closed room. "You're leaving?"
Ino shrugged as if it were unimportant, but the stillness in her eyes gave lie to her actions. Nervously, Ino tucked her long bangs out of her face.
"Do you have permission to go?" Hinata queried breathlessly.
The blonde girl laughed. "I'm not going missing nin if that's what you mean!"
"So, you do have permission to go to Suna." Hinata smiled happily and turned back to the closet to hang up the lovely ball gown.
She completely missed Ino's expression at that moment or she would have realized that she was wrong in her assumptions.
Ino knew she didn't have permission to leave for Suna. And wasn't even 100 percent sure that going to Gaara's village was the right thing to do. She was taking a whole lot for granted, packing like this.
But as she listened vaguely to Hinata apologizing once more for spilling more than she should have to Kiba, Ino reasoned that if she was going to Suna with Gaara …she didn't have to worry about packing as it was already done. And if she didn't go to Suna …well, unpacking was easy enough.
o.o.o.o.o
Pale-jade eyes didn't blink as they stared unmoving upon his target. His will was strong and his gaze had been known to move lesser men to tears. But the current object of his unwavering stare was uncowed, and unmoved …and not a man at all. And more important, it wasn't doing what he wanted.
The men behind him, even though they were not the target of Gaara's hard stare, were not unmoved. Indeed, they were shifting back and forth on their feet noticeably, showing their nervousness. They obviously were not wanting to be there when he finally shifted his gaze back to them.
The door to the greenhouse opened, and caught breaths were exhaled as the people in charge realized that help had arrived at last.
TenTen flashed an apologetic smile at everyone from behind Kankuro. She watched as her boyfriend …she grimaced lightly at the word, even in the privacy of her own mind. He was so much more than that. Her lover? Her …fiancé? No, he'd not asked yet. Still, the vision of those rings he'd had with him wouldn't leave her alone. Pushing those stressful thoughts away, she focused instead on the matter at hand.
Gaara.
Gaara still was creepy at times, at least to her way of thinking. Well, maybe not creepy, she amended to herself. Intense. Yeah, that was it. He was merely intense. Steeling her nerves a bit, TenTen stepped forward. Deliberately she took a light tone.
"A watched pot never boils." She told him even as Kankuro made room for her beside him.
Gaara never looked up at her, a long moment later he gave a soft grunt. "I'm not watching a stove."
"Same principle." Kankuro sighed and shook his head slightly. "Gaara, the flower will bloom in its own time. I don't think even you can rush nature. Flowers don't respect offices."
Finally the red-head blinked and looked up at them, a ghost of humor lighting his eyes. "Is that a polite way of saying that plants don't recognize the fact that I'm the Kazekage?"
TenTen gave him a soft smile. "I'm sorry."
Gaara sighed and then rolled his shoulders. "I don't like waiting. And it's almost the end of the first week of April."
Not understanding that reference, TenTen and Kankuro just shot each other a look. Finally, Kankuro stepped forward. "The flowers will bloom in their own time." Was all he could think of to say though.
"They should have flowered already." Gaara sneered, looking over at his gardeners accusingly.
One man swallowed heavily, but gamely stepped forward. "I apologize, Kazekage-domo. We had no idea the nitrate balance was off in the first planting boxes. We're not used to growing non-medicinal plants here." He bowed his head as he made yet another apology.
Gaara sneered and opened his mouth when TenTen took a step before him. She cocked her head to one side and gave him what she hoped was a smile that hid her trepidation. Since she'd been living in Suna for a month or so, she'd gotten to know him a little better. No, that wasn't quite right. She'd gotten more comfortable around him, through her connection with Kankuro. But she doubted anyone outside of his siblings and possibly Baki actually knew Gaara. Well, and maybe Ino.
Thinking of the blond had TenTen's smile turning genuine. "She'll love them."
Gaara narrowed his eyes on her, but didn't pretend not to understand her meaning. "How do you know?" He sighed and looked away. Neither TenTen nor Kankuro could possibly know how Ino would react to THESE particular flowers, as they had no idea of the pair's private flower language.
"She'll love them because they came from you." TenTen continued, unaware of any meaning behind the flowers themselves.
He nodded, but looked back toward the buds on the green stalks. Being a private person, and unused to sharing information, he just couldn't bring himself to confide in the leggy brunette. Or his own brother. This …this was too personal.
"How about joining us for a late breakfast? My next class isn't for an hour." TenTen offered hesitantly, unsure of herself. Gaara didn't generally join them as a couple, he tended to meet with Kankuro without her around. After a few weeks she realized it wasn't because he didn't like her, but that he felt awkward in social situations that had nothing to do with the politics of his office.
Kankuro shot her a grateful look and reached out for her hand. He liked that she was trying to reach out to his brother.
Surprising them all, Gaara nodded and said yes.
"Great!" The puppeteer said happily, then remembered that he'd wanted to ask TenTen his important question this morning. Still, that could wait until tonight. Right?
o.o.o.o.o
I know the chapter is rather shorter than usual, sorry! I'm still in the middle of moving, but the big stuff is done. I still have some boxes to move and to clean the old place up. Yuck. And I'm sitting in the middle of a TON of boxes to unpack ...but I just felt the burning need to UPDATE! Even though I went to the dentist today and my jaw is sooo painful. And I locked myself out of my house. Yep. But just as I was about to call a locksmith (because I haven't given out spare keys yet), a friend of mine drove up with her husband (a cop!). He got me back into the house! Prayers work even before you pray them sometimes!
What all this boils down to is ...wow, what a day! LOL!
REVIEWS might help me forget about my trip to the dentist. Maybe. It's worth a try anyway!