Day 3: Legacy | Celebrity | "And then there were three."
Being the Kazekage's children wasn't easy, and being his oldest child and the only daughter definitely wasn't easy. Temari had many responsibilities, burdened with raising her brothers after her mother had passed away, as the only "woman" in the family, not to mention she was expected to maintain a proper image at all times.
Yet despite all the time and effort she put in, never once complaining out loud, she was often cast aside by her father, who always seemed to turn his attention to her brothers, the sons of the family–the heirs to his fortune and company. Sure, as the Kazekage's daughter she had her own portion of the inheritance, but it bothered her that she always seemed to be the third thought in her father's mind. A dark part of her wondered if it was because she resembled her mother, and perhaps that memory was too painful for the Kazekage.
Still, as Temari reclined in her first class seat on the airplane to Konoha, watching the clouds through the porthole as it flew, she couldn't bring herself to resent her brothers. It wasn't their fault the world seemed to like them more than her, acknowledging their wits and talents while only asking her about the latest brands she was wearing.
At the thought of her brothers, she turned to them, observing them in silence, a habit she had picked up from her childhood. She always liked to subtly check on them, to gauge their mood and know how best to react, a skill that had been most essential during Gaara's volatile years.
Kankuro was currently snoring softly next to her–how he had fallen asleep in a one hour flight was beyond her–while Gaara, seated across the aisle from her, had occupied himself with a sudoku puzzle, his pencil tapping against his chin thoughtfully.
The overhead speaker crackled, and then the pilot announced their descent, asking everyone to buckle in once again. With a jolt, Kankuro woke up, letting out a half-yell as if he were being ambushed.
"Calm down, idiot," Temari said. "You're disturbing everyone."
Kankuro blinked at her, his hair messy. The purple paint on his face distorted as he made a face at her. "Maybe I'll shout louder, then."
Temari rolled her eyes at him. "Well, you can do that after you buckle up. We've arrived."
"Seatbelts are a pain," Kankuro whined in response.
"Yeah, well, they're necessary to keep you safe, especially with the way you thrash around."
Kankuro shrugged. "I don't control the motions, my dear sister. I simply sleep."
Temari sighed, wishing to strangle him. Kankuro had a knack for getting on her nerves, knowing exactly what buttons to push. His skill at that was only superseded by one person…a certain lazy ass that she was all too eager to see once they landed. She smiled to herself at the thought. She hadn't seen Shikamaru in person since the start of fall, and they were deep in winter now.
"You have that look on your face again," Kankuro said.
"What?"
"You know, that stupid look you have when you're thinking about your boyfriend, like 'oh my beloved man how will I ever live without you?' That look."
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Temari spluttered, glaring at him. She punched him on the shoulder. "Stop speaking nonsense!"
"Gaara! Back me up here!" Kankuro said, casting their red-haired brother a pleading look.
Gaara calmly put his sudoku book down. "I do not wish to participate in this, Kankuro. You dug this hole yourself and you alone shall be buried in it while I watch."
"So much for brotherhood," Kankuro said mournfully. "Will no one have my back? Am I destined to drown in my own sorrows, betrayed by those closest to me? Is this my destiny as the handsomest in the family?"
"Oh, stop being dramatic," Temari said. "You're embarrassing me."
Kankuro grinned at her. "Drama is all there is to live for, and you know I love embarrassing you."
"Okay, I'm not talking to you for the rest of this flight," Temari said, turning away from him and staring resolutely at the scenery outside.
"We only have a few minutes until we get to ground, so I don't see how that works in your favor."
"Shut up."
.
The airport arrivals area was crowded when they got there, much to Temari's annoyance. She tugged her mask higher over her nose, and readjusted the purple shades covering her eyes, hoping to cover more of her face. And, just to be safe, she checked to make sure her hair was tucked into her hat. She could already see the mass of people gathered, their cameras and signs a bothersome sight.
"Ugh, paparazzi," Temari muttered. "I hope they don't see us. I'm just here for a nice winter vacation, not for more politics and drama. That's for Father to deal with, not me."
"You do know they were probably tipped off about our arrival," Kankuro said. "The three of us stick out too much, too. No one else travels in threes like this."
Even at his words, he had still donned on a face mask, a pair of dark shades, and a cap, and was slouching slightly, trying to hide behind other people.
"Since our luggage will be delivered separately, we will simply walk straight to the hotel," Gaara said. His vibrant red hair and tattoo were tucked underneath an ugly woolen cap, the same set of mask and shades as Kankuro's on his face. "They won't expect us to walk."
"Besides, your man gave us that new route to try out, right?" Kankuro said. "I knew he was good for something."
"Please don't call Shikamaru that," Temari said, pursing her lips. "It's weird."
"Well, if men can call their girlfriends their 'woman' then I don't see why the reverse can't be true," said Kankuro. "I'm a firm believer in women having equal rights."
"Oh, please shut up."
Keeping their heads down, they snuck their way past the majority of the crowd, who were all clamoring to see the Kazekage's children,
"You'd think they'd have better celebrities to stalk," Temari grumbled.
"Hey, I happen to like the attention," said Kankuro. "But I get your point."
"It is not every day foreigners from Suna visit Konoha," Gaara said. "It is true our countries have entered a peace, but it is an uneasy and new peace, easily fractured. I assume the local tabloids will soak up as much information from our presence here as they can."
"How fun," Temari said sarcastically. "Just what I came here for. Thank you, Father, for being famous and introducing us to the spotlight at a young age."
"Don't pout, sis," Kankuro said. "You'll be reunited with your beloved man at the hotel soon enough."
"Kankuro, do you want to die?" Temari hissed, grabbing the neck of his shirt and making motions as if to strangle him. Unfortunately, used to her ways, he expertly ducked out of the way, giving her a little wave as he wove past the other people, and out the airport's doors, his mischievous cackling echoing in her ears.
"He has gotten quite fast at evading you," Gaara commented, looking almost proud.
"Not helpful, Gaara!"
Gaara laughed, a rare sound, and Temari couldn't make herself be even remotely annoyed at him. His laugh reminded her of their mother's–quiet and unexpected, as if flowing from a faucet that had just been suddenly turned on only to trickle to a stop again.
"Come, Temari," said Gaara. "We must catch up."
.
They made it out of the airport safely, with the crowd of fans and paparazzi still looking inside the airport for them. Temari smirked, pleased with her stealth skills.
Kankuro was waiting in an alleyway for them, his head ducked low as he tried to make himself blend with the background, his phone in his hands.
"Took you guys long enough," he said, still looking at his phone, his fingers texting away at someone.
"Yes, well some of us have dignity," said Temari. "Anyway, I'm glad we got away nicely."
"Uh, perhaps you spoke a little too soon," Kankuro said, looking up from his phone and in the direction behind Temari. She turned to follow his gaze and noticed what he had seen–a small group of around a dozen people, all of them disguised with hats and scarves, some with cameras in their hands, while others held microphones.
"Oh, great," Temari said, looking up towards the sky, as if about to yell at whatever higher powers were controlling her life. "Look, when I said I wanted more attention, this isn't what I meant!"
"Evasive maneuvers," Kankuro said. "Shall we split up, like how we planned?"
Gaara nodded. "I will take route A, Kankuro B, and Temari C. We all remember the routes?"
"Of course," Kankuro scoffed. "My memory is excellent."
"Says the person who forgot to pack his jacket and had to have Baki drive over to bring it to the airport earlier, but okay," Temari said.
"Oh, please, I'm surprised you remember, considering how all you've been talking about is seeing Shikamaru all this time!"
"Ha! So you do know his name!"
"Enough," Gaara said firmly, stepping in between them. "We must make haste."
"Yes, Gaara," Temari and Kankuro grumbled at the same time, though that didn't stop Temari from jabbing Kankuro in the ribs with her elbow before going.
Recalling the map Shikamaru had sent her a few weeks ago, with his lazy scrawl in blue marking the best pathways to take, Temari took off. This wasn't her first time running from stubborn paparazzi, having had plenty of practice growing up under her father's shadow. Still, the streets of Konoha, although getting more intimate as time went by, were still foreign to her, and there was no doubt that Konoha's paparazzi knew their streets well. She was once again thankful that her boyfriend was a genius.
Ducking into alleyways and making abrupt turns, Temari managed to shake off her pursuers. She reunited with her brothers at a street a few minutes away from the hotel, all of them a little breathless, but shaking it off.
Temari checked behind them, and then groaned. "We still have five of them on our tails! Alright, which one of us brought them over?"
"It was you and Kankuro," Gaara immediately said. "Three were following you, and two were right behind Kankuro."
"Heh, looks like I win this time," Kankuro said.
Temari rolled her eyes at him, even though she knew he couldn't see it. "Okay, well, we still have the second half of the route that Shikamaru sent. We'll have to move quickly."
Temari took point, closing her eyes for a few seconds as she envisioned the map once more in her head. Then, she began to move, sprinting fast and zigzagging through the streets. She didn't bother to look behind her, knowing that her brothers, agile and athletic, would have no trouble keeping up.
As she rounded the next corner, ducking into a crowd with her brothers hot on her heels, she saw two of their stalkers get lost amidst the sea of people. And then there were three left. Three stupid paparazzi members to get rid of. Temari wondered how she was going to evade them if they had still managed to track her down even after her elaborate schemes.
"Ugh, Gaara, we've still got three on our tail," she said, glancing subtly behind them at the three figures trailing them. They all had hats on, as well as scarves and shades of some sort. It was hard to make out their identities but Temari knew for sure they were following them. These three were talented, she could tell.
"What? For real?" Kankuro protested. "How did they find us? You said no one uses this route!"
"Well, that's what Shikamaru said!" Temari hissed back.
"Well, remind me to not trust your boyfriend ever again on the local routes."
Before they could argue more, the three people caught up to them, circling them and cutting them off from all escape routes.
"Oh, great," Temari said, coming to a halt.
"Well, time to face the cameras," Kankuro said.
Temari frowned at his words, suddenly noticing that none of the three mystery members had cameras or microphones, or any sort of equipment common to paparazzi members and fans.
"Wait a second," Temari said, holding her hand out to stop Kankuro for talking any further. She studied the three people, noticing their heights and body shapes, the way they stood. There was something about them…something that she knew…
With a flourish, the three people took off their masks and shades, revealing three matching sets of earrings. The tallest one grinned at her, his black hair tied in a recognizeable ponytail.
"Surprised you, didn't we?" came Shikamaru's smug drawl.
Temari scowled at him, deciding between murdering him on the spot and giving him a hug in delight at his appearance. She settled on hitting him on the shoulder. "You know, you could have warned us beforehand! We thought you three were the paparazzi."
"Nice disguises, by the way," Kankuro said, a little sarcastically.
Shikamaru merely smirked at them. "I'm a genius, and that includes with disguises."
"It was Sai who did all the work, actually," Chouji interjected.
Shikamaru shot him a betrayed look.
"Sai is pretty good at that," Ino added. "You should have him disguise the three of you when you guys leave."
"Yeah, we might take you up on that offer," Kankuro grumbled.
"You three did alright, but no one in Konoha wears a baseball cap in the winter," Ino said, gesturing to the item on Kankuro's head. "And they definitely don't wear one in support of Suna."
"Suna?" Kankuro asked, and he took off his cap to look at it closely, only noticing the hourglass symbol on it for the first time. "Oh, man, I didn't even think of that."
"Well, we're almost at the hotel," Shikamaru said. "You did manage to slip past everyone except us, but I'm a genius so it doesn't count."
"Yes, we know," Kankuro said. "Give it a rest, dude."
Shikamaru merely smiled at him.
.
They arrived at the hotel without any other incidents, their luggage already in their rooms after having been sent there on an earlier flight, and soon they were breaking off into pairs for the rest of the day. Ino and Kankuro had already headed out to meet up with Kiba, likely with some scheme in mind. They were always up to no good individually, but now that they had become friends once Temari had started dating Shikamaru, it seemed the three pranksters would never retire from their mischievous ways. Temari dreaded their chaos. Gaara, on the other hand, had gone off with Chouji, who was leading him to Naruto. That left Temari alone with Shikamaru at the hotel, just the way the two of them preferred it.
Currently, Shikamaru was sprawled on the bed, flipping through the television channels as Temari unpacked.
"I missed you, you know," Shikamaru said casually.
Temari paused, raising an eyebrow at him. This was almost a confession. "Oh?"
He hummed in response. "Yeah."
"And what did you miss most about me?" she asked, taking her chance to glean some information out of Shikamaru.
He continued to surf the channels, pretending to act nonchalant, but Temari caught the blush rising from his neck. "Mostly how troublesome you are, and how boring my life is without you. How you never make my life easy."
"Well, someone has to keep you on your toes," Temari said, setting her suitcase down to sit next to him on the bed.
He smiled up at her, finally tearing his gaze away from the screen. "Heh, yeah."
He switched the channel again, and suddenly Temari could hear her father's voice. She turned sharply to the television and Shikamaru, noticing the action, paused on the channel to let her watch.
Rasa was standing on the screen, dressed in one of his expensive tailored suits, his face impassive as an interviewer regaled him with questions.
"Oh, yes, both of my sons have accomplished much in a short time," Rasa was saying. "Kankuro, although not adept at reading people, has a good head on his shoulders."
"Is it true you've approved of his new plans for Suna's defense?"
"Oh, yes." Rasa smiled thinly, the closest thing to pride he would ever exhibit. "He's currently leading the engineering division of our defense department and has submitted a revolutionary new policy that will ensure the safety of our citizens. Of course, there are a few kinks to work out, but it is a solid first plan."
"And what of Gaara, sir? How is your chosen heir?"
Temari stayed quiet as her father continued to talk on the screen, a familiar burning starting in her.
"Gaara, of course, will be next in line for Kazekage, having shown a natural ability for politics. As most people are already well aware, it was he who negotiated our current peace with Konoha."
At the last word, Rasa's face twisted slightly, betraying his true feelings. Temari rolled her eyes, knowing full well that her father thought peace was for the naive. He might have praised Gaara all the time in public, putting on a flawless father and son relationship between the two of them, but Temari knew the truth.
"And what do you think of their vacationing in Konoha right now?" The interviewer asked, shoving their microphone even closer to Rasa's face.
"It is a smart move," he said coolly. "It is important we maintain the relationships with the other countries."
"And your daughter?"
"What about her?" Rasa asked, a flicker of annoyance flashing in his face, too fast for anyone other than Temari to catch.
"How has she been doing lately? She was, after all, instrumental as an ambassador during the treaty negotiations that Gaara led."
"Hm, yes, I suppose. Gaara did the heavy lifting, and Kankuro was necessary as his bodyguard, so that only left Temari as ambassador. She works hard, but she doesn't have much ambition."
Temari found herself glaring at the screen, even though she knew her father wouldn't be able to see her. It was just typical of him to dismiss her like that.
"I am proud of all of my children, though. Temari has been doing very well in the public relations department, even managing to raise more funds for our programs."
Abruptly, the screen turned off and Temari turned to Shikamaru angrily, about to yell at him for doing that when she was still watching. However, one look at his face stopped her, his brown eyes worried and his mouth in a concerned frown.
"You okay?" he asked softly, moving closer to her and reaching a hand out hesitantly. The two of them weren't big on physical affection, at least not at this early stage of their relationship, but Temari took his hand in her's, the familiar scars on his hand more comforting than she knew how to express.
He gently rubbed the back of her hand. "Hey, you don't have to listen to that, you know. Your father doesn't know what he's talking about. He doesn't know you. We do."
She let out a hefty sigh. "I know that. But it's still upsetting, you know? It's just…everyone looks to my brothers for everything, even back in Suna. I may be the oldest, but Suna doesn't count on me, even if my brothers do. And the older I get, the more I start to worry about this stuff even though I know I shouldn't. My father's getting older and everyone is looking towards my brothers for the future. They expect him to uphold his legacy.
"But what legacy of my father's have I inherited? Kankuro has his looks and his independence, and Gaara has his acumen and his work ethic. But I…I've got nothing. I don't have any of that, only his bad temperament and his irritance, the way he argues with everyone around him."
"You've got his toughness," Shikamaru said quietly. "You have his strength of heart and his patience. You have his confidence and unwavering belief in doing what you think is right. You have more of him in you than you think, and I don't mean the bad things. He says you don't have ambition, but he doesn't see that you're just as ambitious as he–probably even more so. Only, your ambitions aren't about politics or colonization or military might. The things you want in life may be more abstract, but that doesn't mean you don't want them just as fiercely."
Shikamaru paused, looking her straight in the eye, an action that made her rather nervous about his next words. Those brown eyes stared right through her, seeing through all her insecurity, seeing her for who she truly was, the way he always had.
"But more importantly…you have your mother's kindness and her faith in others. You might not think you do, but you care a lot about others. You're the glue holding your family together, you know?"
That was true, Temari supposed, unable to argue against his logic once again.
"You might think you have to uphold your father's legacy, but I say, you've already done that for both of your parents," Shikamaru continued. "You're more than enough."
"When did you get so wise?"
"I've always been smart," Shikamaru replied, feigning an injured look at her.
Temari laughed, her spirits lifted. Leave it to Shikamaru to know what to say, always the right mix of annoying ego and reassurance. "Thanks. Now come on, don't you have something planned for today, you lazy ass? I won't be in Konoha for long, you know."
As they got up to leave the room, Shikamaru whispered something to himself, but Temari caught it.
"You might not burn as bright, but you'll burn longer than either of your brothers."