Whispering Bells
Chapter 1
Temari looked out from her balcony at the rolling hills of sand before her. It was a sight of beauty. The sand changed its creation each day so the landscape was never exactly the same. The hills physically shifted, the colours of the sand changed, new flora was exposed. It was a scene she was accustomed to, but still loved. She had recently become a Jounin, and her eyes to the world had opened up. She was starting to see the world and the beauty that lay in other lands.
Each village had its own personality she had found. Her own people of Suna were proud to a fault. They kept all emotion under wraps, and tended to be abrupt and cold. Showing weakness was an eternal sin in her village.
She had recently returned from the Hidden Village of the Leaf after her last mission. To her surprise she enjoyed her time in the village. The air felt lighter, the people more jovial, and dare she say it – kinder? Was this the influence of the environment, or was it the Kages that had led the village? She knew that the spirit of her village had changed tremendously from when Gaara had taken over as Kazekage.
"Lady Temari?" a loud voice boomed.
Startled, Temari turned around to see an armed guard standing in the doorway. She straightened her long black kimono robe and stood tall.
"Yes, what is it?"
"Lord Rasa wants to see you at once."
Her father? What did he want? Her relationship with her father had always been strained. His cruelty towards Gaara his whole life was not something she could easily forget. Making Gaara a Jinchuriki, the multiple assassination attempts on his own child, making Gaara think that his own mother hated him. Temari shuddered. He was always putting the village before his own family. Well, he was no longer Kazekage, and she did not have to come by his command.
Temari stared coldly at the guard the turned her back to him, sending him a clear message. She stared out the window, a vibrant pink desert lily caught her eye.
"He requested you come immediately. I have orders to not leave without you."
"He is not the Kazekage. I do not take orders from him."
The guard planted his feet and looked straight ahead, not letting on any expression.
She sighed. Her father was a stubborn man, she might as well find out what he wants.
Shikamaru tried to balance the large stack of chunin exam results and profiles, while knocking on the Hokage's door. She wanted to personally review each chunin candidate carefully. He had spent so much time writing up an assessment of each student. It was so troublesome…how did he get himself tied into the chunin exams of all things.
He could hear light laughter coming from behind the door. Was she not alone?
Shikamaru rapped on the door again. This time louder. He was about the drop the large stack of papers on the floor, so he decided, probably against his better judgement to just open the door.
Hokage Tsunade quickly shoved a book under a large stack of papers. "Shikamaru, you startled me."
"Sorry, Lady Tsunade. I knocked but there was no answer." Shikamaru looked around the room. There appeared to be no one else there. He dropped the large stack of profiles on her already overflowing desk.
"Are those the chunin results? What are your thoughts?"
Shikamaru slumped down in the chair in front of her. "Well, I think we have a few excellent candidates in there, but I'll let you review my assessments."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes as she looked at Shikamaru. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his hands looked blackened and cut. He looked so tired…almost to the point of total exhaustion. Shikamaru was never the most energetic ninja, but this was distinctly different. Something was off. He had been looking progressively worse ever since his failed mission to retrieve Sasuke.
"Shikamaru?" she started gently. "Are you alright? You are not looking well. I could examine you if you want."
He suddenly sat up straight in his chair, and then cleared his throat. "I'm fine, Lady Tsunade. I'm just not sleeping well, is all." Well that much was true.
She gave him a look. "Hmphff…I thought you and sleeping were the best of friends?"
He gave a weak smile. "Well usually." He wanted to change the topic. He spied the Nara clan medical encyclopedia on her desk. "Are you researching new medical jutsu?"
Tsunade's face lit up. "Oh, the information the Nara clan has gathered here is indispensable. I can't thank your father enough for passing it on to me. I've been able to develop some new antidotes for some complex poisons, but I am missing a few key items. In particular, I need a particular flower that only grows in the desert. I believe the Hidden Village of the Sand has access to this."
She pulled out a piece of parchment. "I am formally going to request this from their village." She quickly scrawled a message and then affixed her seal. "Can you please send this to the village via a messenger bird."
Shikamaru took the parchment, and started heading towards the door.
"Oh wait a second" she called.
She went to the other side of her cluttered office, and opened a large glass jar. Inside she pulled out a small sachet filled with dried leaves. She put the sachet into his hands. "It's a special tea. It'll help you sleep"
"Thank-you" he said softly, and put it in his pocket. He left the room and closed the door behind him.
Tsunade sighed. Something was not right. Perhaps she better speak to Asuma to find out if he had any insights.
Temari walked into the large sitting room to see her father standing at the other end, facing the open window. His once auburn hair was littered with greys, and the harshness of the desert were starting to take effect on his face. The last few years in particular had aged him. You would think that stepping down as Kazekage would have lightened his appearance, but he seemed troubled as always.
"You summoned me?" she called out.
Rasa turned around and faced his daughter. She had changed so much in the last three years. She was becoming the spitting image of her mother, with her sandy blonde hair and teal coloured eyes. She no longer dressed as a child but as a grown woman, now donning a long black kimono with a red sash. Her temperament though, was nothing like her mothers. Temari was often blunt and didn't mince words, she lacked the gentle nature of her mother.
"What do you want?" Temari asked again impatiently.
Rasa looked sternly at his daughter. "Temari. That is no way to speak to your father. I did not raise you to act with such disrespect."
"Respect is earned, not owed." Temari countered.
"You are still young, and you still have a lot to learn." He walked over and sat on the couch near the centre of the room. He beckoned her to come sit across from him. A set of hot tea was waiting there for their discussion. Temari, went and sat across from him, keeping her posture stick straight.
"Temari, you are no longer a child, and it is time for you think about your future."
Temari frowned. "Future? I recently achieved Jounin rank. There are so many missions, so much work to be done. The pile of S class and A class missions that Gaara has is long." She gave her father a pointed look. "Not to mention repairing the relationship between our villages…"
Rasa shook his head. His daughter was missing the point. "That is short term thinking. There will always be missions, relationship building. I am thinking of the future of our clan, of the future of the village."
Temari nervously took a sip of the hot green tea.
"I think it is time you stop playing ninja. It's time to give serious strength to the clan."
"Excuse me? Playing Ninja? I am Jounin. Elite! This is not a game I play, it is who I am!"
"Temari, my desert flower. A child thinks of themselves and their needs. An adult thinks of what is best for the greater good. For the village. For the clan. Everyone is taking notice of you. You have blossomed into a beautiful young woman. I have been approached by a number of clan leaders enquiring about you. The right match with the right clan could give our clan an incredible advantage. And paired with the right person, your children could have incredible abilities."
Temari flushed red. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her father wanted her to give up her ninja career to get married and start having children? She had just turned twenty. This was not the life that she wanted for herself. Where was her say?
"Do you even care about what I want!? Or is our clan and village all that is important to you?"
"If you were an adult it would be more important to you also. Being an adult –"
"-being an adult is showing loyalty, love, listening and respect! It is not simply amplifying the status of the clan. Father, we are people. Kankuro, Gaara and I. We are not just objects or tools. We have feelings. It is something that you seem to forget all the time!"
"Temari!" Rasa shouted. "That is enough. Discussing marriage at the age of twenty is well within norms and is not some crazy suggestion. I married your mother at eighteen."
"And look how well that turned out for her."
Rasa struck Temari hard across the cheek. Stunned she stumbled backwards.
"ENOUGH!" Rasa shouted. "You know nothing. I was the fourth Kazekage and I am STILL your father. You know nothing of the sacrifices I made. Of myself, of my family."
"At what cost?" Temari asked tearily. "At the cost of my mother! Gaara and Kunkuro may not remember her, but I do. She loved us. She would do anything for us. She did not want the taliled beast sealed within her children. The thought terrified her. You think I don't remember, but I do. What about what she wanted. Why is what you want always the most important?"
Rasa stood up to his full height and stood in front of Temari. "You think you are like your mother do you? Know this. You are not. You may look like her, but you don't understand her character. She did what was best for all of us. She gave up her life for it. Willingly. You are not even half the woman that she was."
Rasa gave himself a little laugh and shook his head. "You're impossible. Always were. Even the one-tailed beast had better sense than to match with you. I'm going to have my work cut out for me, but believe me, it will be done, and the Kazekage Clan will come out ahead because of it."
He brushed past her and walked out the door. The room fell silent, but Temari could feel her mind screaming.
Shikamaru looked around the forest to see if anyone had followed him. All he could sense was a small rabbit and a number of birds in the trees. Perfect. He didn't want any interruption that could disturb his focus.
It was the middle of the night, but the sun was due to start rising any minute now. It would be the perfect time for long shadows to be cast. At this early hour, the flashes of light mixed with sunrise should go unnoticed.
He gathered his chakra, crouched down and made three hand signals. "Shadow Fire Jutsu!" he whispered. Two long shadow strings left his feet, and raced towards the large tree in front of him. Underneath the shadow, a spark was travelling encased in the shadow string to the large tree. When the spark hit the tree, it fizzled and quickly went out.
Damn it! Why is this not working? What element am I missing?
The two sparks joining were supposed to ignite a fireball that the target wouldn't notice until it was too late. Instead of a massive fireball, it was just a piddly spark that fizzled out immediately. He made the hand signals again. It ended with the same result.
Night after night he had been trying. The results were varied, but he still hadn't had any success.
How long can I keep doing this? My chakra is getting completely depleted and I'm not making any progress. But it should work. I must be missing something. I have to keep trying.
Shikamaru closed his eyes for a moment. He would have to take Rock Lee's mantra, and keep training until he dropped. He spied his favourite hill off in the distance. The one he used to spend hours watching the clouds.
He sighed. "Man…what a drag.."
A/N: Thanks for reading! I would love to get a review from you, as this is my first Naruto Fanfic! In the next chapter, Gaara will get involved in Temari's predicament, and Team 10 is getting suspicious of what Shikamaru is hiding.