I say nothing but read on…;D KSVH. XxxXxxX

Chapter 36.

Reversal.

Temari waved the last person out of the Hatake Mansion, thoroughly worn out, and she turned her attention to the stairs.

By the time she'd reached her bed, she felt like she couldn't keep her eyes any longer. Yet she had to. She had to get ready for bed yet.

Temari took hold of her hair and brought it forwards so that it hung in front of her left shoulder, before trying to reach the zip at the back of her dress.

"Ohhhhhh. Come on." She muttered, trying to reach it.

"That's kind of futile you know."

Temari looked over her shoulder in surprise to see Shikamaru standing by her bed. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Don't tell me, you came in through the window." She smiled at him.

"I did, actually." He smiled back. "Want some help there?" He asked, moving forwards so as to stand behind her.

"Huh? Oh sure, thanks." She said thankfully, moving her hair out of the way and turning her back to him, waiting patiently as he undid the zip for her.

She turned back around once she'd finished.

"Ok, turn around." She ordered him. He raised an eyebrow before rolling his eyes at her and complying, turning around so that he couldn't see her at all.

Temari hastily undressed and hung her dress on a hanger which she carefully put back into her tall oak wardrobe. After having done so, she walked over to her bed and changed into her night wear of black pyjama top and bottoms. The top having a heart with a lock on it and a jumble of fancy looking keys next to it reading; 'The key to my heart'.

She went to turn around again to tell Shikamaru he could look again, but to her surprise, she found she couldn't.

"Shikamaru…Uhh…I can't seem to-"

"Move?" He finished for her, letting her turn around so that they could both see each other. "I know." He said, with a lazy yet triumphant grin.

Shikamaru walked closer and closer to her, making her take steps backwards until she hit the bed and fell on top of it, making her unable to go anywhere as he still came closer to her.

Then he let go of his Shadow Possession Jutsu, enabling her to move freely. Not that she moved of course.

"You seem really quite…Tense." The Nara heir said, his grin turning slightly wicked as she held her breath unconsciously. "Perhaps we should loosen that up." He said. Temari's eyes widened.

Suddenly his hands shot forwards and started to tickle her on her neck and stomach, making her laugh hysterically as they both collapsed on the bed sheets.

Temari tried to tickle him back, but this proved fruitless, as he would quickly dodge out the way and continue to tickle her.

The blonde kunoichi found herself laughing so hard that her laughs were silent, tears streaming down her eyes as she fought to breathe properly. Her stomach was tightening from laughing so much, and Shikamaru was grinning at her malevolently.

And that was when the door opened.

To reveal Kakashi, book in hand as he looked up, expecting to see Temari.

And instead, getting a view of Temari, utterly out of breath and panting, with Shikamaru on top of her as he pinned her down, hands on her stomach and neck…both of them staring at him in shock.

Kakashi abruptly panicked and backed out of the door quickly, closing his remaining uncovered eye and nearly walking into a wall in the process.

"Uhh…Oh my god. I'm sorry. I'll…Uhh…"

The door immediately closed, and footsteps were heard hurrying away.

There was a silence.

"Does he-"

"Yeah."

"He thinks we were going to-"

"Have sex?"

"Yeah."

"Oh hell."

"Mm."

There was a silence for a few seconds, and Temari quietly sat up and brushed her hair over her shoulder.

"Shikamaru." She said, sounding rather uncertain as she bit at the skin of her lip absentmindedly, peeling some of the dead the dead skin away and grimacing at the thought of how much that would hurt when she tried to smile tomorrow.

"Yeah?" He asked gently, rubbing her back in an attempt to warm her up as she shivered against the cold draught that the door had brought in unintentionally.

"I…I don't think we should get married." Temari said, rubbing her shoulder, her whole body language giving off an aura of doubt.

"Hm? Why…Why not?" He questioned patiently.

"Well, we're too young to get hitched really. And not to mention we would look a bit odd. You know? Eighteen and married. I mean, I'm sure you've got things…"

"Things?"

"Things that you want to do while you're this age. I don't know…Skydiving."

Shikamaru smirked as his head swivelled round to look at her mockingly.

"Skydiving..?" He repeated with a chuckle.

"Oh! You know what I'm getting at." She said in exasperation, swatting him on the shoulder as she allowed herself a small smile.

"You don't want to marry me." He said, bringing the conversation back on track.

"No. Not yet anyway. We should definitely remain together…Because…I love you." She finalised, looking into his almost doe-like eyes, yet his spiky pineapple which sat atop his head giving him a careless devil-may-care look.

"What a coincidence, me too. I guess I just have a thing for troublesome women. But you're the only one troublesome enough for me." Shikamaru drawled, the corner of his lip quirking up in amusement.

Temari smiled at that, and looking down at her hand, she eased it off the Nara wedding ring that he had presented her with that night. He watched her as she held it out to him.

"I want you to hold on to it." She said calmly, blinking her long eyelashes at him once and slowly.

"Promise me you'll take it back when the time is right?" He queried her in as much seriousness as he could muster.

"Only if I can have you too." Temari said, grinning slowly. He pretended to think on it for mere seconds before starting to smirk at her.

"I think that can be arranged." He replied, raising one eyebrow.

"What a drag." She snorted.

"Yup. Totally troublesome." He agreed with a quiet laugh. They stared at each other for a long second before he nodded to himself. "I best get going. I don't want to worry our dear Sensei."

Temari paled. "Oh fuck. I've got to-"

Shikamaru grinned mischievously. "Yeah, you do. You love it. Do me a favour and wind him up about it before hand. It would be nice to hear about him feeling positively embarrassed."

"Ok. I'll remember to tell him that before I am sacrificed to whatever unloving and uncaring god of revenge he decides to sacrifice me to." She muttered as he re-opened the window and jumped all the way to the ground, using his chakra control to make sure he didn't fall over or bust his ankle before jogging away in the direction of the Nara estate.

Temari muttered to herself, her thoughts on what she was going to say to Kakashi in a complete and utter muddle, swarming around her brain fuzzily as she made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen, wondering if there was any milk in there fridge.

The kitchen was in total darkness, and even though Temari ran her hand along the wall, she couldn't seem to find the light switch.

With an impatient huff, she groped her way around the table, chairs and work surfaces until she came to a cupboard, and quietly she opened it, grabbing a glass and setting it on the work surface in front of her.

It was pitch black, and she could barely see. But when she focused as much chakra as she dared to her eyes, being careful not to strain them, she could make things out a little more clearly.

Treading carefully along the smooth floor of the kitchen, she fumbled around until she found the fridge, opening it and blinking dazedly as the small, intense light revealed the fridge's contents. Temari grasped the milk carton's handle and keeping the fridge door open so she could see what she was doing, she poured herself a glass of milk, listening as it splashed rhythmically into the glass.

After she returned the carton of milk to the fridge, glass in hand, and started to close the fridge door.

That was when she then caught sight of a ghostly pale face in the reflection of the fridge's handle. She screamed in shock and dropped the glass, wincing as it smashed on the floor.

Kakashi sighed from behind her.

"CREEPER. TALK ABOUT FUCKING SNEAKING UP ON ME!" She yelled at him.

"Me sneaking up on you? Really, just because it's dark. And watch your language! I thought we'd almost got rid of your bad language." He chided her.

"W-Well…" She couldn't find anything to say, so she huffed and let the conversation lull into a VERY awkward silence.

"So." He said uneasily, his one non-Sharingan eye looking everywhere but at her. Temari glared stonily at empty space, running her tongue along the top of her bottom set of teeth in agitation.

"Ok. I'll make this clear now. Shikamaru and I were NOT going to have sex." She stated in clear annoyance. Kakashi whipped his head round to face her, his face portraying a mixture of emotions.

Anger, confusion, humour…and Temari could have sworn she saw a flash of relief cross his face for a mere nanosecond, so quickly that she nearly missed it.

"I never said-" He started to defend himself.

"You didn't need to. Your panic told us everything that was going through your head from the second you laid eyes on us Kakashi." Temari cut him off, wishing she didn't have to say this.

"Well…Good. I suppose. Because I'm telling you now, if you had both made a mess-"

"OI BITCH. THAT'S TAKING IT TOO FAR AND I DO NOT WANT TO KNOW." Temari yelled, punching him firmly in the shoulder with indignation. Kakashi hardened his gaze at her as she glared back with enough force to rival one of Sasuke's 'Uchiha Glares'.

"Treat others the way you want to be treated." Kakashi reprimanded her, slipping into his teacher mode. Temari rolled her eyes with an accompanying sigh, shaking her head at his inexperienced mind.

"If that doesn't work, kill them." She quipped for him, knowing that he would never remember that vital part of the rule. He clucked his tongue and clipped her round the ear.

"Yowch!" She yelped, backing up towards the doorframe and out into the

"Going back to the point…Do not EVER scare me and then take the mickey ever. Again." He said, a dark aura gathering around him. "Get it?"

"Got it."

"Good."

"But we left the spare condoms box beside your door just in case." Temari said with a complete poker face as she started to head up the stairs.

Killing intent swarmed around the room, giving everything a darker, more sinister edge as Kakashi's Sharingan eye glowed in the night's now deepened darkness.

She sniggered hysterically and took off like a bullet up the stairs and darting into her room before he could, or almost, murder her.

"By the way, we called the wedding off. But don't worry, we're still going to get married one day!" She called back.

"NANI?" Kakashi yelled back. "WHEN WERE YOU THINKING OF TELLING ME THIS KURA-TAKA?"

"Before you were going to sacrifice me, but of course, moi, being a ninja, managed to escape your evil clutches of death, and evaded scarification. See? See how clever I am?" Temari replied calmly.

"…Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight." Kakashi muttered, retreating into the depths of his own chambers, mulling over it all and decided that it probably wasn't worth worrying about.

Temari's door opened suddenly, and she turned over in her bed to see Urushi, her favourite Ninken, the single white dog out of all of Kakashi's dogs pacing slightly in her doorway. She gestured sleepily to let the dog in, and Urushi padded in, quietly closing the door behind him with his tail.

"Hey there boy, what d'you want?" She asked with a yawn.

Urushi nosed her quilt covers and glanced over the top of her bed, locking eyes with her.

"What? No, no you can't sleep on my bed, Kakashi will kill me." Temari mumbled, her teal eyes barely managing to stay open seeing as it was so late. Or rather, early, seeing as it was one o'clock in the morning.

Urushi whined slightly in the back of his throat, nosing her arm pleadingly and making his eyes as big and as cute as they could go.

Temari sighed as she caved in, knowing that her soft spot for the dog would always win out in the end, no matter how hard she tried.

"Fine, for tonight. Seeing as I'm going home tomorrow, and I probably won't see you again unless I decide to visit, which I'm afraid won't be too often." She whispered, her eyes starting to droop even as Urushi jumped up onto the four poster bed with her, going round and round in circles slowly, before flopping down into a curled position, up close to her body.

She smiled softly as she felt him breathing against her, his body warm against where he lay on top of her quilt, pressed up against her legs.

Involuntarily she reached out and massaged his ears, smirking slightly as they twitched in appreciation. A few minutes of listening to the albino dog's even breathing, she found herself slipping off into unconsciousness, finally falling asleep.

"You ready to go?" Kakashi asked as Temari dragged her humongous bag, filled with 'all my crap' as Temari described it.

"Yeah, when can I leave?" Temari grinned mischievously, her four ponytails bouncing as she ninja-dodged a playful swipe. She put one hand on her bag, and the other on her hip, looking at everything in the Hatake Mansion foyer.

Suddenly there was a tremendous thunder of paws and insane howling as eight ninja hounds came rushing towards her at great speed, small Pakkun racing against the much larger Biscuit as he raced to be at the head of the triangle formation.

"WERE YOU LEAVING WITHOUT SAYING GOODBYE?" Pakkun brayed at her.

"Uh oh." Temari's eyes widened as she realised, too late, that they weren't going to slow down.

She yelled out as the dogs barrelled into her, sending her crashing down, and landing softly upon Bull, the massive bulldog as he grinned lopsidedly at her.

"Thanks Bull." She thanked the dog, grinning back. She suddenly scrunched her face up as the rest of the dogs piled up, surrounding her as they licked her face and hands playfully.

"Oh ew! Guys! Ew! Pakkun! Off my stomach girl!" Temari laughed.

"Ow!" She then yelped as Pakkun bit her hand in warning, licking it over to heal the bite marks.

"What gender am I?" He asked, baring his teeth at her slightly. Temari scrunched her eyes up again as Bisuke, Akino and Shiba licked her face simultaneously.

"EW! OK YOU'RE A BOY. GOOD BOY! NOW, STOMACH. OFF!" Temari squealed, glaring as Kakashi chuckled, making no move to help her at all.

"What?" She asked him, as she quickly got to her feet before the dogs, which swarmed around her, could drag her back down.

"Seems you won't be allowed to go at this rate." He commented, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. She hmm'd her agreement.

"Well. I guess this is it." She said, grabbing the handle of her bag.

"Yeah I guess so. And don't forget what this was all about. Ok?" Kakashi reminded her. "You've gotten a lot better since you first came to stay with me. So…Keep up the good work. Yeah? Because you won't be coming back to school anymore, and I can't keep an eye on you forever."

"Old git." She said, rolling her eyes as she threw her arms around his neck.

"Damn teenager." He smirked, flicking one of her four ponytails which had been re-done that morning after having washed her hair thoroughly.

"Well…Thanks." She said, drawing away from him and taking the handle of her bag again more firmly.

"Remember what I taught you?" He asked her suddenly, his grey hair falling slightly to the left as he tilted his head. She nodded and concentrated.

It was not her that moved, but the world. Not her, the world. Not her, the w-

She opened her eyes suddenly.

To find herself standing in the kitchen.

At her own house.

"Gaara? Kankuro?" She called out tentatively.

"Temari?" Came Kankuro's voice, filled with incredulity.

"Yeah, I'm home." She said with a grin as Kankuro's frame filled the doorway, minus his cat hat which usually framed his head and face.

"Thank god, we need someone to do some proper cooking, Gaara can't cook for toffee. He can't even fucking make toffee. Let alone cook FOR it." Kankuro said, rubbing his hair ruefully.

"I HEARD THAT." Gaara yelled as he thundered down the stairs.

"OH MY GOD TEMARI!" He yelled again, shoving Kankuro out of the way, despite his being smaller in size, and hugging Temari hard. "I thought we'd lost you forever! And you're back! You're back!" Gaara said happily.

"Tell me you're back for good." Gaara suddenly said, glancing up at her in panic. Temari nodded with a smile as she hugged him back in a rather happy surprise.

Kankuro and Temari stared at each other in shock over the top of Gaara's crop of red, un-kept mess of hair on top of his head.

"Gaara are you feeling ok…? Normally you hate us and want to plot the death of the world." Kankuro said uncertainly.

"Well…Someone told me taught me to love my family…and…love…others….Butthatdoesn'tmatter." He said quickly, detaching himself from Temari with a blush forming on his cheeks.

"S-Someone got through to you?" Temari stuttered in astonishment.

Gaara fidgeted slightly, rubbing his fingers together.

"Woah…Hang on a second…Gaara…Have you got a girlfriend?" Kankuro asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow as he slowly took a step towards his younger brother.

"…Maybe…What's it to you?" Gaara said defensively, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at his brother.

"OH MY GOD GAARA YOU'RE GROWING UP." Kankuro wailed, clinging onto his brother as though he would never let go.

"Get off me dick." Gaara snapped. "Otherwise Aranya and I will both kick your ass."

'Oh thank god, he's back to his old self already.' Temari thought, with an absentminded sniff. 'There's just no place like home.' She smiled, shaking her head as her two brothers ranted at each other about Gaara's new girlfriend.

Suddenly the door burst open and a blur of white raced towards her, knocking her over with a yell. The boys stopped and stared at her as though she was mad as she started laughing, watching as an albino white dog licked her all over her face before letting her up and lifting up his paw.

"Hey there boy, what's that you've got for me?" Temari said, untying the small knot of rope which had a slip of paper tied to it.

Puzzled, she opened it and read the message which had been scrawled in Kakashi neat calligraphy writing.

'Temari,

Urushi seems to want to stay with you for some unknown reason and is quite stubborn about it. I can only assume you have made him a loyal friend to you.

Therefore, I entrust him to you, and hoping you will look after him.

I can still summon him if I need him for an out of work job such as the missions which newly left graduates so often tend to do for extra money.

But otherwise, he seems content to stay with you.

Sincerely,

Kakashi Hatake.

(P.s: He is a Ninken, not a pet, and will not hesitate to bite you if you insult him. Be warned.)'

Temari stared at the letter for a second, staring at first the letter, then at the dog, the letter, and finally the dog again.

"S'this true?" She asked the dog. The dog yipped with a slight nod, his tail wagging enthusiastically.

"Then I guess I'll have to keep you and look after you then, won't I." She sighed, a grin spreading out over her face as he yipped again, and ran round and round in small circles with joy.

"Temari. What is going on…and what is THAT?" Kankuro asked slowly, his eyes huge and round.

"This is commonly known as a dog Kankuro. Well, actually, he's a Ninken, and he can understand everything you're saying." Temari laughed. Causing Kankuro to smile sarcastically at her. "Also, he will be staying with us…You could call him mine…but…Technically, he's still kind of Kakashi's, even though he's given to me and living with me now. And I prefer to think that I don't own things like they were my slaves."

Gaara nodded, taking it all in. He then bent down slightly and offered out a hand to the fluffy albino.

"Oh, his name's Urushi by the way. Go on boy, he's my brother, Gaara." She encouraged, watching as Urushi made his way over to Gaara, sniffing him out. Then he licked Gaara's hand.

"Ew." Gaara stated, rolling his eyes as he gently petted Urushi who pushed his head against Gaara's hand happily.

"Hey, where did Kankuro go?" Temari asked suddenly.

"He made a run for it. By the sound of it, he's barricading his room. Don't worry, I'll knock it down later." Gaara informed her as he straightened up, letting Urushi trot back over to stand beside Temari once more.

"So, thinking of going back to Kakashi's anytime soon?" Gaara asked as he pulled out to glasses and a bowl, filling them all with water and giving one glass to Temari, and placing the bowl on the kitchen floor beside the back door in the corner.

"Nah, I don't think he'll want me back. Shikamaru will, we called the wedding off by the way, we think we're too young to get hitched, so we're going to wait a while." Temari said, waiting for the outburst.

Gaara nodded to show his understanding.

"You…You're not gonna freak out on me?" She asked, her teal eyes meeting his light teal/turquoise ones.

"No. I think you both made a wise decision. I'll leave the screaming to the girls…Who are about to arrive in probably…five minutes?" Gaara said with a wicked grin as he waltzed out of the kitchen.

"Oh god." Temari said as she paused in the act of ruffling Urushi's ears. "Actually. During this past month and a week…I've had worse." Temari said, winking at Urushi with a malevolent grin.

And that, dear friends, is where this fic ends.

I hope you enjoyed reading, even though there were a few mistakes here and there…

And…

Yeah.

BUT. I have good news…

I'm creating a sequel, when I put up the first chapter, I'll put an Authors Note on here. Oki dokie? =D

Review please!

Thank you to EVERYONE who reviewed, so many of you reviewed regularly, and it helped me get lots of inspiration and love! =3

Thanks for reading the story in general! That's always a plus right? I write and laugh, you read and laugh. xD

Everyone wins. .

Much love guys! ;D

Kaitaru Seras Viktoria Hatake.

XxxXxxX