Happy Labor Day Weekend! But I'M SO MAD.
I was going to lump both chapters 7+8 into one long one as a special for you guys BUT MY COMPUTER CRASH AND THE FILE WAS NOT RECOVERED. I didn't lose all of my writing but I made so many edits to ch 8 that it was pretty much completely rewritten. GRRR. Sorry. You'll get two chapters this week. :)
I borrowed Yukimura Sanada and Mitsunari Ishida from Samurai Warriors 4 (I'm a Koei junkie). I love their design but will be rewriting them as shinobi so it's kinda-sorta... a crossover?
I guess this is also a good time for the "I do not own any characters in this story" disclaimer.
The Land of Wind's Raging Sandstorm
Ebizo's eyes followed a fish that was drifting through the water in his sister's pond as he quietly reminisced about the times they used to spend together there. Ever since her death, he would often come there alone to carry one-sided conversations with her in his mind to help process his thoughts.
His frail body trembled when he heaved a sigh, reminding him that his old age was catching up a lot faster than he'd expected.
Chiyo nee-chan, it's been very quiet here without you. I'm sure even the fishes question the stillness in your pond. I guess you can say the same about the order that has finally fallen over the villages. You were right about Gaara-kun and Naruto-kun, you know? Their friendship and the undying support they have for each other will allow Suna and Konoha to lead the world into continuous peace.
His body shook from a sudden violent fit of coughs. He pulled out a handkerchief to cover his mouth and calm the wheezing sounds that were coming from deep in his lungs.
My body continues to grow weaker with each passing day. I'm sure it won't be long before I join you at your new pond on the other side. Though, I hope that I get to see our nation prosper before we meet again, nee-chan. The world is starting to industrialize rapidly. They're building so many machines that can do the job of multiple people in a shorter amount of time. The vacant territories in the Land of Wind are rich in resources demanded by all of these advancements. Gaara is trying his best to ensure that we build Suna with a community as its foundation and not money. He's afraid people will grow greedy. Kankuro has been an exceptional counselor. You'll be happy to know that he's filling in your shoes just fine. I've been teaching him everything we've saved for Sasori and he's been exceeding my expectations. Temari has lost some of her tomboyish demeanor as she continues to mature into a lovely young woman. The staggering resemblance between her and their mother is uncanny. You wouldn't be able to tell them apart if it wasn't for the girl's terrifying presence.
Ebizo paused and silently chuckled to himself. Feeling another cough stirring up in his lungs, he brought the piece of cloth back to his mouth and tried to suppress the wheezing sounds again.
"Ebizo-jiisama."
Ebizo turned his head to see an another elder approaching him. Behind him was a middle age officer with a giant axe strapped against his back. The sun reflected off his weapon and the bald spot in the middle of a receding hairline. His hair was styled in a similar fashion as the samurais from the Land of Iron. He was twice the height of the older men and also twice as wide. Under a thin layer of fat were dense clusters of muscle that shook the ground around him as he walked.
"Tojuro," he greeted the older man. He nodded to the officer, "Katsuie."
"You should be resting so that you can take care of that nasty cough of yours," Tojuro tried to advise him.
He faked a cough in order to hide his scoffing at Tojuro's false sense of concern. "I'll be fine."
Tojuro was second in command in the senior council. Ebizo knew that he was counting down the seconds to take over as head of the council. Tojuro was an extreme loyalist to the old government of Suna. There was no questioning his dedication to the village, but his constant undermining of the new Kazekage made Ebizo cautious of him.
"Do you know when we can expect Temari-dono's return?" the younger man asked. Katsuie Shibata was known to share the same views as Tojuro. Though an extremely talented shinobi, he had a reputation of being hotheaded and coldblooded. Ebizo only blamed himself and the other elders for that. That was the way they conditioned all of the Suna shinobi prior to Gaara taking over as the kage. He was thankful that the current generation of the Kazekage Clan appeared to have inherited their mother's compassion and were able to quickly adapt from human weapons to human beings.
"Temari has a meeting with the Hokage tomorrow and should be heading home immediately after. We can expect her back in roughly four days," Ebizo answered. He turned to the shinobi's large stature and asked, "Though, I am curious. What business do you suddenly have with her, Katsuie?"
"He is a supporting and concerned member of our office, Ebizo-jiisama. We wanted to discuss the future of the village with you," Tojuro answered for the younger man. When Ebizo didn't respond, he continued, "Karura wasn't much older than Temari was when she was betrothed to Rasa."
Ebizo shot him a confused look. "How is that relevant to the village's future?"
"Temari is an honorable shinobi, and of course we've never expected anything less as we've all had a hand in training all three of the Sand Siblings. She's a smart young lady who holds not one, but four very important positions in our village," Tojuro began to explain.
"She's the Kazekage's bodyguard, a military advisor, and our ambassador. Does she hold another position that I'm not aware of?" Ebizo asked, not caring to hide the suspicion in his eyes as he stared at the other senior.
"No, Ebizo-jiisama." Tojuro continued. "You know that she is Rasa's first child, and it's just about time we start preparing for an heir."
Ebizo snickered out loud. The gesture irritated his lungs and made him cough between each laugh. "Tojuro, do you know if Temari currently fancies anyone?"
"Well…" Tojuro started to say.
Before he was able to mutter out another word, Ebizo brought his hands behind his back and turned towards the younger man. "Katsuie, do you know if Temari fancies anyone?"
"A-ah," he stuttered, unsure of what to say as well. "She… she appears to be very busy. If she is interested in anyone, I haven't seen it."
"Right," Ebizo declared. "Now tell me, do you know if there's someone out there that fancies her? Do you fancy her, Katsuie?"
"I wouldn't dare!" the officer exclaimed.
"Right again," Ebizo said. "As if her Kazekage bloodline wasn't intimidating enough, that girl isn't known as The Land of Wind's Raging Sandstorm because it's a pretty nickname for a lady. Good luck finding her a suitor, let alone finding one that she would agree to marry."
"But Ebizo-jiisama, she has no choice. It is her duty," Tojuro finally stepped in again. A disgruntled expression washed over his face when another robust laughter erupted from Ebizo. "I wish you would take this seriously, Ebizo-jiisama. We are just concerned about the future of our village."
"I'm sorry," Ebizo apologized through the handkerchief he was holding over his mouth. He waited until the rumbling in his chest subsided before continuing. "I've always enjoyed talking to that young lady because of how much she reminded me of my sister. An ambitious shinobi with a cruel and calloused exterior, but an incredibly soft heart for her family and her village." He took a deep breath and looked back at the pond. "She's a firecracker like Chiyo and won't have anyone forcing a fate she did not ask for on her. You will have to make her think that marriage was a decision she made for herself."
"Her fate was decided for her the moment she was born," Tojuro grunted in annoyance. "Of course, we would want an heir directly from the Kazekage, but a child from the first born is just as ideal. She's also of age now. Gaara still has a few years."
Ebizo's pressed his lips together and frowned. Chiyo gave her life to make up for their mistakes in the past. They forced the fate of being a jinchuriki on Gaara, which ultimately forced the fate of death on his mother. He wished that the other elders weren't so stuck on their old ways. Chiyo died so that Suna can move forward from that.
"She's our first option, and Kankuro will be our fail safe," Katsuie echoed the other elder.
"I see," Ebizo said. His face sunk into a serious expression as he processed the information they were relaying to him. "Well, Temari is currently working on closing an agreement with Konoha to build that train Gaara pushed for. Knowing the Sand Siblings' relationship with the leaf's council, we can expect her to succeed. At least give her the time until that project is completed to see if she'll find someone she likes here in Suna."
"I understand," Tojuro agreed. "On that note… The second topic I would like to address is her constant absence due to her role as the ambassador. I assume it will be even more frequent seeing that she is the liaison and will most likely be the one overseeing the project. While the new chunin shinobi are nothing less of impressive, they cannot fill the shoes of a high level jonin like her. I would like to bring on additional bodyguards to take her place while she is gone. In addition to that, they can serve as her bodyguards while she's home. That will allow them to shadow her and get them accustomed to her daily tasks. It's best to get that started as soon as possible so we'll be well prepared for when she steps back into motherhood."
A smile broke the serious expression on Ebizo's face. He almost felt sorry for the other elder for underestimating the young kunoichi. Did you hear that, Chiyo nee-chan? They think they can control her. They're in for a nasty surprise if I am right about her being just like you.
"We shall see when you present this to Gaara and the Sandstorm herself," he said as he turned to walk away. He made it a few steps past the two men bowing to him before turning over his shoulder to speak. "But," he began. "I must warn you… Temari might have taken after her mother's appearance, but she is the only one out of the Sand Siblings to inherit Rasa's temper and relentlessness."
"I am aware," Tojuro replied. "I was the one in charge of their taijutsu training when they were younger. I saw that fire in her when she excelled past her brothers."
"Then you should know that you are trying to tame the wind that's fueling that fire," Ebizo chuckled before continuing to walk away. A grunt came from Tojuro before he straightened up to follow him in silence.
Once they were out of his sight, Katsuie jumped onto the boarders surrounding Chiyo's pond and made his way to the roof of a nearby building. "Did you catch all of that?"
"Don't worry. We're not afraid the sassy princess," a light, silky voice declared from the shadows.
"Everything is currently in motion," Katsuie said, ignoring the voice. "Do you know your position in this mission, Yukimura?"
"Yes," answered another man. His voice was deep, but smooth and tranquil.
"Good." Katsuie walked over and handed them a picture of the Sand Siblings. "She will be returning in four days. We'll present you two as the new proposed bodyguards. You will use that time to gain the trust of the Kazekage. When she's here, you will shadow her and figure out ways to get close to her. Tread carefully with Kankuro as well. The painted face is meant to be deceiving. Regardless of bloodlines, they don't allow idiots into the council. Do not do anything that will rise suspicion."
A delicate, manicured hand stuck out of the shadow to accept the picture.
"The development of that train is going to take at least a year. You'll have all that time to find a way to be her betrothed," Katsuie ordered. "Once she's pregnant and out of the office, Mitsunari can replace her as a military strategist and you can take her place as the Kazekage's bodyguard until we get rid of him. When your child is born, we will have total authority in the council. We replace her as the ambassador and can finally dictate both internal and external affairs."
"Understood," the deeper voice responded.
He was answered by the sound of the wind as Katsuie vanished.
"Oi, Yukimura," said the other voice. "Are you really okay with having a child with this girl? I understand she's of the Kazekage bloodline, but we are overthrowing her family. I'm sure she's not going to submit herself or the child to you once we do that."
"Arranged marriages and bearing children have always been used as blood contracts, Mitsunari. And it does not matter what she wants. She will be compliant or she will go down with her brothers."
Mitsunari stepped out from the shadows and gracefully walked to the edge of the building. His long red and orange ombre hair danced like a flame around the delicate features on his ethereal face as he looked over the village. "But," he protested. "Your child will be a pawn in their politics."
The tails of his forehead protector floated behind him as Yukimura hoisted himself off the wall to join the other shinobi. His chin-length spiky brown hair rustled around his chiseled face from the breeze. "My child will not be a pawn. I will protect them the same way I will protect this village. Our loyalty does not lie with any specific person, but to Sunagakure itself. Katsuie and I just happen to share the same sentiment about the Kazekage. Extending our boundaries to Konoha is a dangerous and a naive move. We cannot risk that mistake and protect Sunagakure no matter what."
Mitsunari quickly glanced at his best friend before returning his gaze to the village. He didn't care about the village to the same extent as Yukimura. Mitsunari was definitely more loyal to the very few people in his life. He didn't care for anyone that didn't contribute to it and found the majority of people to be irrelevant because of this perspective. "How ironic," he smirked. His voice was so soft that it could have drifted away with the wind. "When it was Suna who has already invaded Konoha."
"More of a reason to keep them at bay," Yukimura replied. "I'm sure there are many people who still hold a vendetta against us." Crossing his arms, he closed his eyes and grunted in annoyance. "And they want to develop a transportation service that will allow Konoha shinobi to easily infiltrate our city. I'm not sure if the Kazekage's heart is in the right place, but I know for a fact that his mind isn't. Even a fool can see how idiotic that is. I will do whatever it takes to protect our village, even if that means I have to wed his sister."
Mitsunari sat himself down on the ledge of the building and examined the picture in his hand. "I guess there's still Plan B," he sighed as he traced his fingers around the blonde kunoichi's face. "Hold her hostage and then get rid of her once the Kazekage surrenders the village. Pretty clever of Katsuie to figure out that the prior kidnapping missions failed because they went straight for the jinchuriki. Attacking their loved ones is much easier and is always more devastating." He pierced his thumb through the photo, leaving a hole where Temari's head was.
"Remember not to underestimate her," Yukimura reminded him.
"Hmph," Mitsunari grunted. He shredded up the picture and scattered the pieces into the wind. "How scary can that woman possibly be?"
"You're not taking your tessen?" Shikamaru asked. He had noticed that it was leaning against the wall in his room when he went to get his keys from the nightstand.
"Don't worry, crybaby. I can still protect you without it," she said, turning over her shoulder to stick her tongue out at him.
"Always something with you, troublemaker," he muttered to himself, shaking his head as he followed her to the front door.
Temari was about to say something in rebuttal until she felt a burning sensation on the tip of her ears. She brought both her hands up and wrapped her fingers around them to feel out the heat.
"Are you alright?" he asked in concern. He dropped down to her height and inspected her face. She didn't appear to be in pain, but he was curious about the confused expression she had on.
"My ears started burning," she mumbled, rubbing her helix between her thumb and index fingers.
Without taking his eyes off her, he stood back up. "My mom told me that means someone's talking about you."
Temari shrugged it off and turned around to open his door. "Must have been when you called me a troublemaker back there," she smirked at him when they stepped into the hallway of his complex.
"It doesn't count if you can hear it," he frowned as he turned around to lock his door. As soon as he heard the faint click of the deadbolt, he felt the twisting of his ear between her fingers as she yanked on it.
"Let's go!" she demanded as she started to pull him down the stairs.
"Not until you let me go!" he barked at her. He felt a few small callouses on her soft skin when he tried to peel off the fingers she had curled around his cartilage.
"Okay!" she chirped as she retracted her hand. "Look at how red your ear is! Someone must be talking about you too," she joked as she turned around and continued to descend the stairs.
Shikamaru rubbed his ear in attempt to soothe the burning sensation and glared at her back as he followed her down the stairs. Not only is she violent, but she finds humor in it… She might be worse than my mom.
Author's notes + addressing one of my reviewers 3 :
KangerTop21- I'm glad you think that I kept Shikamaru and Temari close to their personalities in the series! I do try my best to because I'm totally in love with them as they are.
I think what I picked up on from the reading other fics is that the different authors usually write the different versions of them during specific arcs. I noticed that a few authors tend to write Temari as we see her at the chunin exams. I feel they do that when they want a more confident and brash (and stubborn) version of her. Many will write Tem and Shika post-chunin exams to capture their flirtatious banter. I'm shooting for Temari during the Blank Period when she softens up a lot more (with a little bit of my own spin of course)! Tbh, I have no idea where I'm going with Shikamaru because he's kind of in between his hiden arc and the Konoha hiden arc.
A lot of you guys have also mentioned that my fanfic has a different feel.
I've applied a lot of my young adult life into it. A few of the conversations were either inspired by or completely ripped from events in my life. ^^;;;; I think it might project a very "slice of life" feel because that's basically what you go through in your early 20's. The last chapter of them smoking played out like a scene from the anime Nana in my head. Pretty much any scenes with a lot of dialogue really...
Anyway, thanks for sticking this out with me. As I've mention, this is my first time writing a fanfic in over a decade (and writing anything that's not an email in the past 2 years bwahahaha. #adulting). It's a little everywhere but it gets my creative juices flowing and I can't find enough time in the day to write everything!
AS YOU CAN TELL, I love love love your feedback and love responding to you guys. Thanks so much for all of the support.
Lots of love~
Stay tuned...
Kiba's Party Part I: Temari vs Kiba, Shikamaru, and their cigarettes.
(I'm sorry again for not being able to include it in this chapter . T_T)