:: Author's Note ::

I have to make some corrections... ..;

I will have to increase Temari's age, since Lost Dream brought up something I carelessly hadn't even realized(Lee and Sakura are fifteen and sixteen?! How did I not notice that?!!)) and I think it would be best to make her twenty-one instead, making Naruto and co. eighteen and Lee nineteen. They're still young, but considering that Konoha is sort of an old-fashioned place, it doesn't seem TOO irregular.

And so much in the way of thanks to refused, the manga chapter idea will work awesomely!

All my repeating reviwers(and new ones), I consider you the coolest beings upon this green earth :)

I am trying to lengthen my chapters, but I'm having some trouble making the connection smoothly between scenes, so be warned.


"Lee-kun! Clean faster!" called Sakura in her lecturing voice, spraying a window with windex for the third time and polishing it with a rag.

Her bowl-haired husband swept some dirt under a rug, hiding it from view.

"But Sakura-chan! It's only Naruto-kun. I nearly lost a toe to an old frozen dinner last time I was at his place!"

There was a long silence, and Lee shivered as he felt the killing intention creep in from the other room.

Luckily for him, their guest arrived, knocking continually at the door until Lee answered it, which he was happy to do.

It was, of course, the Eternal Knocker of Doors, Naruto, grinning at his juvenile joke.

Sakura came in from the other room, and immediately gave her Jounin friend a one-armed hug, as she was holding her daughter in the other.

And as Naruto had feared, the child began crying the moment she spotted him.

Sakura laughed nervously, but Lee offered to take her to see what was wrong.

Naruto scratched the back of his head, forcing a grin.

Why did babies always do that around him?!

Sakura handed Naruto a plate, and began cutting up multiple fruits for their salad, while he snacked on little sandwiches on the table. There were ten sandwichs in all- two each for her and Lee, and six for Naruto.

For awhile, she talked about random things- the baby, the truth about Lee's eyebrows, and how everyone else was doing, but when she reached a silence, she couldn't help but blurt it out.

"Naruto," she began, "I think I saw Temari last night!! As in the sister of Gaara!"

Caught off guard, and he often was, Naruto choked on the two little sandwiches he was eating at once and sent a tomato spewing from his mouth.

- - - -

"Why, sure, I'll hire you. You'll have to tell me you name again, though." smiled the older woman, perhaps in her late twenties.

"It's Temari."

"Temari! Oh, I'll be getting confused. I have another girl who works here, her name is Tenten. Six letters and they both start with the letter T!" she laughed merrily to herself, not noticing as Temari restrained her shock.

A ninja must never be surprised, she scolded to herself.

As sweetly as possible, she asked, "What shift does she work? Will I be seeing her?"

Althought confused as to why her newest employee wanted to know about another employee, the woman responded, "She's here in the morning, and you're signed up in the evening... you might, but it's highly unlikely."
Temari silently let out a sigh of relief. She needed this job, and was easily willing to take the risk of seeing her former opponent.

But if the pigtailed brunette did see her... what would she do? Would she tell the Fifth about it, and what about her friends? If she was kicked out of Konoha, there were few places so large that she could become hidden in.

Casting her thoughts aside, she only put on her best smile, one which was unpracticed, toothy, and forced, and wished the storeowner good day, promising to be there for her shift tomorrow.

Her next stop was a Go and Shogi parlor located on the second level of a building downtown, where she had been accepted to work in the mornings.

- - - -

"Temari?!" exclaimed Naruto, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

"I don't know why she's here, Naruto. It can't possibly be another attempt to destroy Konoha, right? Because that wasn't something planned by her and her brothers... they were just pawns."

The Jounin nodded thoughtfully, something he was rarely seen doing.

"Maybe... it has nothing to do with the exam. Maybe she's just trying to live here?" he shrugged, stuffing the remainder of the sandwiches into his mouth.

He had been her home country a few times on missions, and could be quoted as saying that the climate was 'stupid.'

The people of the Nation of Sand lived in houses shaped like the pottery pots Naruto grew his plants in, and were constantly taking beatings from the winds that slashed day and night through the gritty soil. It rarely rained there, and it was dry and hot, and whenever someone stepped outside, the winds would rip at a person's skin and make it bleed, and sometimes, grains would become stuck in their skin and leave a bump or a scar.

He often grumbled at the memory, and could easily see why Temari would want to leave.

Then he noticed that Sakura was popping her knuckles, something she did when she was thinking or worrying, and was glancing into the other room where Lee and her baby were. Lee was giving the child a fresh diaper, and was currently being defeated by the baby powder, which had blinded him. When the powder cleared, the baby cooed and laughed, and Lee lifted her to his shoulder and spoke to her, a happy smile spread across his face the entire time.

But Naruto only gazed somewhat sadly. This was what he dreamed about when his crush on Sakura was strong, but now, he considered it nearly impossible. All the women in the village he knew were getting married, and his missions and training scedules were keeping him from a social life.

He had always wanted to work this hard, all toward becoming Hokage, but he couldn't be a bachelor when he accepted that responsibility.

It was just not worth it.

"Oi, Sakura-chan, can I talk to you later? I'm going to go talk to Shikamaru and the rest about the Temari thing." he excused himself, and Sakura gave him a quick hug before he left.

Stepping onto the downtown, residential street, Naruto asked himself where might Shikamaru be.

Of course! Playing the old men's games! And if he remembered correctly, there was a Go and Shogi parlor just a few blocks from here, and it was the only one this side of Konoha.

- - - -

This. Is. So. Boring.

Temari's head lay resting in the hand of the arm she had propped against the desk, the sounds of clacks and talking faint in her ears.

Although she had been hoping for a slow-paced job, this was too slow.

It was filled with old men, all the time, who seemed to have nothing better to do than master games for which there was no purpose.

Shogi? How will that help you in life, hmm? Temari wanted to know.

She yawned, and heard someone approaching.

And someone she thought she would never see again came bursting through the door.

"Hey, Shikamaru!! Are you here, Shika--" Naruto stopped suddenly, locking eye contact with Temari.

Both stared at each other, Temari's blue eyes sharp and defensive, Naruto's blank but well-meaning.

"Ahh-ah-ah... W-What are you doing here, Temari?" he asked nervously, scratching the back of his head, his heart racing. This confrontation could be ugly.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm working." she scoffed, pretending not to be surprised at seeing him and trying her best to remain calm and collected.

Naruto nodded for a moment, before scrunching his brows together curiously.

"Why are you working? Isn't your family rich or something? And why are you in Konoha?" The questions came popping out like fireworks, each one annoying her further.

As if to explain all his questions without detail, she pulled herself up to sit on the stool behind her, revealing her heavy belly.

"...oh." murmured Naruto.

Realizing that she had separated herself from her family, and knowing what it was like to be short on income, his compassion kicked in.

"Do you have any other work than this?"

One blonde eyebrow quirked, as if to demand from him why he cared.

"I have another job at a store. I'm a cashier."

He nodded a few times. "Can you cook?"

Temari shrugged, and smoothly responded, "If the need comes."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but although I've tried, I can only make ramen. Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei both say that if I don't eat healthier, that I'm going to become weaker." he seemed unable to continue explaining, and with a sigh, Temari finished his sentence.

"You men are so helpless. Are you telling me you'd hire me just to cook meals for you?" she asked, clearly enjoying her superior abilites in the ways of cooking.

He shrugged and nodded. That was basically it.

"Sounds easy. But you gotta pay me six dollars a meal, I won't waste my time on handmade meals for nothing." She kept her eyes on him the entire time, watching from under long-lashed lids every movement he made. She knew how to tell if someone was trying to deceive her.

He held out a hand, which Temari reluctantly shook.

"I live in the apartment building on Calamara street, number three-fourteen." he called as he left.

After the kitsune was far from her presence, she smirked.

Temari of Hidden Sand Village had never cooked a meal that was without burns in her life.


:: Author's Note ::

Sooo, what do you think?

I had a bit of trouble linking the two together, and then it was a tiny bit hard to let some of Temari's arrogance dissapate, so I just decided it was more her style to do a little bit of manipulation :)