Disclaimer: see part 1.
Of Sand and of Leaf
Part 7
Sakura's Take on Philosophy
By Random1377
"Ohayo, Shikamaru-sama."
Shikamaru was so taken aback – so absolutely stunned – by what he was seeing, that he could barely stammer, "O-Ohay… o…"
Temari stood calmly before him, her head bowed demurely low as passersby stopped to gawk… and Shikamaru could not blame them – after all, it was not often that you saw a woman in a full kimono in the heart of an all-shinobi village, let alone a woman that is known throughout the region as a proud, fearsome warrior.
It was very jarring.
"Why are you wearing that?" Shikamaru blurted, scratching the back of his neck as more people stopped to stare.
Temari seemed unconcerned by all of the eyes on her. "Have you forgotten, Shikamaru-sama?" she murmured, "three days have passed."
"Stop with the sama," the chuunin growled, grabbing her by the elbow and hurrying her off the streets and into a nearby café. "Now… what are you doing??"
"It's been three days," Temari said simply. "I said that if you didn't like me after three days, I would change. Remember?"
Shikamaru looked blank for a moment. "Oh, right," he said, relaxing slightly as he remembered the 'rules' the Sand nin had imposed on her time with him. Looking her up and down he said, "It umm… it suits you."
It did not, really. He readily admitted that the white, silken fabric offset her healthy, peach-hued skin – and the crimson and midnight flowers stitched into it definitely brought out the intense steel blue of her eyes… but it was all so at odds with his mental image of her that it was impossible to get around. She had definitely changed, of that there could be no doubt, but the change was so drastic that it was almost upsetting.
Taking a breath to get a grip, Shikamaru led her out of the café.
"So what's the plan for today?" he asked dryly, trying to goad a reaction from her, "knitting? Baking cookies? If you're going to be this kind of woman, just playing dress-up isn't going to do it."
Unfazed by his sarcasm, Temari murmured, "If that's what you want me to do today, I'll try it… but I'm not too good at those kinds of things."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Of course you're not," he said chidingly, "you're a warrior, right?"
"I'm whatever you want me to be for the next three days," Temari said quietly. "Test me any way you want, Shikamaru-sama – I don't go back on my word."
At a loss for words, Shikamaru simply whispered, "Right."
She can't keep this up, he thought confidently, shooting the girl a sideways glance; I give it two hours – tops! She's not patient enough.
Coming round a corner, however, they ran into TenTen… and things got very bad, very quickly.
"Ohayo, TenTen-san."
TenTen froze, her eyes flashing with hostility and fear as the Sand nin greeted her. "O… ohayo," she said slowly, her hands once more gravitating towards her throwing stars. "What's going on with that get-up? You look like an idiot."
Oh, here it comes, Shikamaru thought, mentally cringing as he prepared for the Sand nin to explode.
Instead of an explosion, however, Temari simply bowed. "I'm sorry you don't like it."
There was a moment of heavy, stunned silence, wherein TenTen and Shikamaru reached the same conclusion about Temari's dedication to her current, pacifistic attitude. Their reactions, needless to say were quite different.
Shikamaru stepped forward and to the side, positioning Temari slightly behind him as a dark, vindictive smile twisted the corners of TenTen's lips. "I heard you were going to do this," she said, her voice taking on a dangerous chill. "I never expected you to go through with it. So tell me… when I knock you down, are you going to cry or just lie there and wait for me to kick you?"
Glancing at Shikamaru, Temari whispered, "It depends on how it feels. Weak women allow themselves to work on pure emotion… so I won't know until I experience it and let my feelings out."
TenTen cracked her knuckles loudly. "Get ready to learn, then," she said, her voice silky and low. "I've been storing this up for three months…"
For a moment, Shikamaru almost did not move – his surprise at seeing the younger woman so full of rage taking him so off guard that his muscles nearly missed his mental command to intervene.
"Oi," he said quietly, moving fully in front of Temari as TenTen's right hand clenched into a fist. "OI! Get a grip."
Blinking as if she had just noticed he was there, TenTen looked up into Shikamaru's face. "What?" she complained. "She has this coming! Goddamned superior BITCH! Don't try to stop me, Shikamaru-kun, or I'll-"
"TenTen," Shikamaru cut in softly, sticking his hands in his pockets and shaking his head. "You're not… really going to disgrace your sensei, are you?"
TenTen frowned. "Disgrace my sensei?" she asked warily. "What are you talking about?"
Shikamaru scratched his nose with carefully practiced indifference. "Well," he said slowly, "I'm not really opposed to you taking a free shot. God knows she deserves it for the way she treated you during the Chuunin tests… but I'm pretty sure it's still against our teachings to attack an unarmed opponent, isn't it? I'm sure Gai Sensei would be embarrassed to find out that you struck someone with no defenses – out of nothing more than old spite. Vengeance has never been part of our code of conduct… or did I sleep through that lesson?"
Her determination faltering, TenTen mumbled, "She's not unarmed… she's got a kunai somewhere under that stupid kimono…"
Looking back over his shoulder, Shikamaru said, "I don't even think she's wearing underwear." He nodded to the Sand nin. "Temari – are you armed?"
"No, Shikamaru-sama," Temari replied softly. "I'm not a warrior today."
Trying not to roll his eyes in disgust, Shikamaru turned back to TenTen. "I know you're still mad about what happened," he said reasonably, "but hitting her now won't accomplish anything – and you know it."
Reluctantly, TenTen uncurled her fist. "S-sorry, Shikamaru-kun," she said awkwardly, the passion of rage quickly draining out of her small frame.
"Forget about it," Shikamaru said easily, "just…wait until it's an even fight, ok? Or challenge her to a duel, or something."
"I will," TenTen said, her eyes shooting to Temari's. "And it won't be like the last time we fought – believe that!"
Giving Shikamaru a bow, she turned on her heel and strode off into the crowd.
Yare, yare, Shikamaru thought dismally, I'm going to have to watch her all day – just to make sure she doesn't get jumped by anyone that has a grudge with her. What a hassle.
Fortunately for him, the rest of the day slid by without any major conflicts… though he did find out – rather quickly – that no one in the village liked Temari in her current incarnation. Everyone they bumped into looked horrified at the Sand nin's complacent attitude and downcast eyes, turning to Shikamaru for an explanation as if HE was the one that had started it all.
The entire day was spent not fending off attacks from vengeful Leaf ninjas, still holding some bitterness towards Temari for her role in the invasion of the village during the chuunin trails, but in verbal tap-dancing and backpedaling as Shikamaru tried his best to avoid telling everyone that the proud Sand nin was acting this way because he had a tendency to favor quieter women.
By the time the sun fell behind the mountains, scattering a brilliant peppering of stars through the sky, Shikamaru was mentally wiped out. "Kyaa," he groaned, stretching expansively as he headed towards his house, "I don't know if I can do this for two more days… and I never thought so MANY people would care!"
It seemed to him that half of the village's population had stopped him to ask what was going on, finally prompting him to come up with the convenient semi-truth, 'She lost a bet.'
Yeah, so the bet was with herself, he thought dismally, still doesn't stop everyone from bothering ME about-
"Shikamaru-sama?"
"Hmm?"
Turning around, the chuunin nearly cried out with shock, finding the Sand nin kneeling formally at his feet and bowing low in a sign of deference and respect.
"Thank you for taking the time to be with me today."
"O-oi," Shikamaru muttered, "get up! Someone might see you! You don't have to go THIS far."
"This is what you like, isn't it?" Temari countered softly, keeping her eyes on the ground. "A soft, obedient woman – just like you said at dinner."
Shikamaru pursed his lips. "So you heard that," he mumbled, scratching the back of his neck. "I didn't mean…" he trailed off as Temari simply continued staring at the ground. "Alright," he said wearily, "I get it, you've made your point… you can stop now, ok? You can just be yourself for the next two days, just… just get up…"
Temari stayed where she was, though she did raise her eyes. "I can't do that," she said quietly, "I promised I would be the kind of girl you like for three days. I can't go back on my word… it would dishonor my village."
"But I don't like it," Shikamaru blurted. "I don't want you to be something you're not – that's just stupid."
Averting her eyes, Temari replied, "But you don't like women like me. I'm willing to change."
Shikamaru ground his teeth. "That's not what I want!" he said, feeling trapped by his own words.
"Then, what DO you want… Shikamaru-sama?"
"Not you!"
Stricken silence dominated the scene as Shikamaru's mouth worked, struggling to form the words 'I'm sorry,' or, 'I didn't mean that' or anything else that could express his regret at his angry outburst… but no matter how he tried, nothing would come out. Finally, Temari nodded.
"I understand," she said, her voice surprisingly even as she rose to her feet and gave him a formal bow. "Goodnight, then."
"Wait!"
Shikamaru's cry came too late. Temari was already gone.
"Idiot," he groaned, slapping his forehead. Now I have to go find her, he thought, realizing suddenly that he didn't have the faintest clue of where the Sand nins were staying. Someone has to know… I'll just-
"Wow," a voice behind him mused, "that was pretty harsh."
Glancing over his shoulder, he found Sakura sitting on a bench behind him, her eyes closed as a soft evening breeze ruffled her short, pink hair. Since when am I so bad at hearing people sneaking up on me?? he thought, still frustrated by his own stupidity. She probably heard the whole thing, too. Great… here comes the lecture on how I should have been nicer.
To his surprise, however, Sakura simply sat still tilting her head to the side as if listening to a secret whispered, perhaps, by the quickening wind.
"Nice night, huh?" she said after a few moments, opening her eyes and looking up at the twinkling stars.
"Yeah, sure," Shikamaru mumbled, unsure of what to say.
Sakura lifted her chin, drawing his attention to a nearby elm tree. "Look at all the leaves," she said, her voice oddly subdued and quiet as she leaned back and rested her hands on her stomach. "Do you think they'll fall soon?"
Shikamaru shook his head. "It's spring," he said flatly, not at all in the mood for the girl's roundabout banter. "The leaves are strong right now."
Clearly pleased with the direction the conversation was going, Sakura smiled. "Strong is good," she said lightly, turning her eyes to him as she added, "but if a leaf is too strong, and holds too tightly to the branch, it will be left alone – never fulfilling its true purpose as it desperately clings to old ideals and hopeless dreams of longevity."
"You shouldn't try to spout philosophy," Shikamaru said dryly, "it doesn't work for you."
Sakura shrugged. "Alright," she said bluntly, "then I'll say it flat out – you're a moron. Everyone goes on and on about how brilliant you are on the battlefield, but you're a dimwit when it comes to dealing with people. No one in the village believes for one second that you don't care about that girl… it's obvious that you're fascinated by her. The only person you're fooling is you. Stop being stupid, for God's sake…THAT doesn't work for you."
Pursing his lips, Shikamaru eyed her. "And what would you recommend?" he asked coolly.
"That you stop being stupid," Sakura replied immediately. "Everyone knows you like her – just go down to the Sakuraba Inn and tell her already, and don't give me that line about not liking strong women… I've known you your whole life."
"You don't know me," Shikamaru snorted. "Stop sticking your nose into my business."
Sakura stretched, letting out a jaw cracking yawn. "Have it your way," she said dismissively, "but when you end up alone, don't try to pretend you don't know why."
Shikamaru felt his temper slipping. "I like being alone," he said defiantly, "I-"
"No you don't," Sakura cut in calmly, "but you go on and keep lying to yourself. I'm going to bed."
"Hey."
"Hmm?"
"I pretty much know what you're gonna say here, but… what would you do?"
Sakura shrugged. "If it was me, I wouldn't be in your situation," she said coolly, "I would have been the one trying to get you to see me. See, I can understand where she's coming from… and I think you know why – but if things were reversed, and there was someone I didn't really care that much about…?" She trailed off thoughtfully, glancing back over her shoulder at Shikamaru. "I guess I would get off my high horse and make an effort to get to know them. It was sort of like this with me and Rock Lee – when we first met, I couldn't stand him. We're not like, dating now… but we ARE friends, and that's because I made the effort to see him for the person he is."
"And you don't think Lee wants more than what you're offering?" Shikamaru countered, folding his arms over his chest.
"Oh, I'm sure he does," Sakura said dismissively, "but you know something?"
"Hmm?"
Sakura turned away once more. "If I wasn't in love with someone else, I could see myself with Lee – and I think that, more than anything, that's why we're friends. He knows us being together is unlikely, but at least he knows that I gave it real, honest thought instead of just dismissing him out of hand." She paused for a moment, and when she spoke again, Shikamaru could hear the smile in her voice. "What more can people like us ask for, in this world?"
Shikamaru opened his mouth to reply, but before he could speak, Sakura raised a hand and waved over her shoulder.
"Goodnight, Shikamaru-kun."
The chuunin sighed. "Goodnight, Sakura-chan."
Watching the girl walk away, Shikamaru threw his hands up in the air. This is such a pain, he thought darkly, ok, so, maybe that WAS a little harsh, but seeing her all dressed up like a stupid doll was sickening – everyone said so… and I'm not going to make someone change just for me. I don't want that much responsibility.
He frowned deeply at this last thought, not because it was really unexpected – avoiding responsibility was practically one of his ninja specialties – but because it was so vehement… so desperate, as if we was trying to convince himself that it was true.
"Damn it," he muttered, glancing up into the night sky, "and I like stargazing, too… man, I'm a prick."
Sakuraba Inn, huh? he mused, well maybe I should… nah, just let it go…
Sticking his hands in his pockets, he started for home, but he walked right past his front door without so much as a second look, wandering aimlessly around the town for several hours with no real destination in mind, working over the events of the last few days and trying to remember when, exactly, he had stopped feeling uncomfortable around Temari and started looking forward to her tendency to pop out of a bush or appear seemingly from thin air to tap him on the shoulder, grinning broadly as she asked if he was ready to give up on being stubborn and actually enjoy himself.
It came as no real surprise to him when he finally raised his head and found himself standing in front of the Sakuraba Inn, already moving towards the entrance and trying to figure out what he was going to say when he knocked on Temari's door.
"Hope she's still up," he muttered.
Walking through the door of the small building, however, he found the innkeeper – a small, birdlike woman in her early forties – busily sweeping up… sand.
"Hello, Shikamaru," the woman said, noticing him after only a moment. "Isn't it a little late for you to be out?"
"I'm a chuunin know," Shikamaru reminded her, "my parents don't really keep a curfew for me anymore."
Not that they ever really had, of course… Shikamaru was the kind of person who was in before dark anyway, and tended to stay out of trouble – if only by nature of not wanting to be hassled.
"I don't suppose all that sand came from the three Sand nins staying here," he said casually, "you know… creepy guy with a gourd, creepy guy with red paint on his face, creepy girl with a big fan on her back? Are they still here?"
"Oh they left a couple hours ago," the innkeeper said, sounding relieved. "I guess they were supposed to go back a few DAYS ago, but the girl kept saying she had something she had to finish before she left, and that she might stay, if things went right." She shrugged. "Guess they didn't."
Shikamaru sighed. "Yeah," he said, sounding deflated, "guess they didn't…"
Bowing his thanks, Shikamaru stepped out into the chilly evening air. Damn it, he thought angrily, I don't need to feel guilty over this!
Slowly, he crouched down, leaning his back against the inn and touching his forefingers and thumbs together to make a circle in his lap. Closing his eyes, he considered what his next step would be. Follow her? Let her go? Run screaming through the town, bellowing that he was the lemon merchant and Chouji was the keeper of the cheese?
He smiled faintly at this last thought.
Only two real options, he mused, rising to his feet. Go home and go to sleep, or walk past home to the town gates. Simple decision, right?
For another hour and a half, he stood in exactly the same spot, weighing the pros and cons of the 'simple' decision until his head began to throb. Finally, for the first time in his life… Shikamaru gave up on reason and allowed himself to run on pure emotion.
Pushing away from the inn's wall, he began walking towards his house.
The End
Author's notes: ha – just kidding. There's one more chapter to come… I just wanted to see how many people would actually shout 'HEY!!' at their screens over that lame final line. Ok, so, part 8 was finished before I was even halfway done with 7 – and before I'd even STARTED 6 (hey, I knew what was gonna happen, I just needed to get there) so I'll put it out in, ohhhh let's say three days. Yeah, three days feels like a nice round number. You can wait that long, can't you? Sure you can! Builds character.
I had some pre-read help on this chapter from Six String Samurai. He liked it. You should too… cuz he's kinda hard to please.
Feedback is always welcome on any site with reviewing capabilities, or by e-mailing me directly at random1377(at-symbol)yahoo(dot)com.