Thank you, misumi-san, Kazumi Tachikawa, Uzamaki Liliana, Intuition, WinterOfOurDiscontent, MisChibiOus for reviewing the last couple of chapters. I appreciate them!
Only one more chapter left after this one. I listened to Fiona Apple so much, she possessed me through her music, and forced me to insert them. Don't worry, they're italics, and rather easy to skip. They're supposed to describe Temari's feelings a bit. In this chapter (and once the others are revised) major characters are those with speaking parts, and minor are those merely mentioned. I might possibly correct this chapter at a later time.
I've also started a Hinata and Kiba story set in this same AU and timeline (past), based on Beauty and the Beast. It's only just beginning, and not yet posted. Hopefully some of the people that liked this story will like that one as well.
(x) means notes, which can be found below.
Title: Two Swans
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Characters: major: Temari, Gaara, Kankurou, Shikamaru, Yashamaru, Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, Kiba, Nara Yoshimo, Ino.
minor: Chouji, Akimichi Chomaru, Yamanaka Inoichi, Nara Shikaka, Konohamaru, Moegi, Sakura, Neji, Lee, Tenten.
Relationships: ShikaTema, minor SasuNaru, minor HinataKiba, possible minor InoChouji
Notes:
1. Nara Yoshimo is Shikamaru's mother.
2. Akimichi (Lord) Chomaru is Chouji's father. In the manga he was part of Nara Shikaku's team, and in this story was close friends with Shikaku (Shikamaru's father).
3. Yamanaka (Lord) Inoichi is Ino's father. In the manga, he was also part of Nara Shikaku's team, and in this story was close friends with Shikaku.
4. Nara Shikaku was the Hokage before Shikamaru, for those that didn't figure that out by now.
5. Shikamaru has some talent for magic (ninjutsu in anime/manga), and so he can see Temari's chakra aura (mentioned in last chapter), but not as much as Yashamaru, as so she picked it up more easily.
One of Shikamaru's men comes in to see her. She doesn't remember his name, nor does she really care to. As long as he doesn't touch her, she won't go mad.
"Lady Mine? Is that really you?" Blondie Boy keeps staring at her! Who does he think he is? Who does he think she is? Some curious animal in a cage to be gazed at? Temari throws a pebble at him. She hopes it hits him in the eye.
"It's me, Naruto. Come on, I wasn't that much of a background character!" Nope, she doesn't remember him. He growls, but doesn't push the subject. "Look, personally I don't think you did killed Chouji. Shikamaru's too smart to marry a murderer. But unless you say something, we can't do anything about it."
"Shikamaru's always said that you are silent by choice." There's someone else in the room besides the short, blonde one? She squints and stares into the corner, but she still can't really see him. He's so dark to begin with, that she can not easily differentiate him from the shadows he's standing it.
"Sa-a-asuke," Blondie whines over his shoulder the shadow. "Stop being so mysterious. We need to be serious about this! She could die."
"What are you planning on doing, force her to speak?" Sasuke steps away from the wall, and she can now make out his face. Yes, dark, brooding, and so absolutely, untouchably Naruto's.
"No! Let's just talk to her! She can probably understand us, at least." He turns back to her, his face pleading, and his eyes wide. She looks away. She cannot speak. Even if it spells her death, she will not give up on her brothers.
"Please, speak, Lady Mine. I don't like seeing you in this cell, it's doesn't fit you!"
Sasuke snorts. "A dungeon doesn't fit anyone, idiot. That's the point."
"Shut up, Sasuke! This isn't the time for biting wit! I wanna save her life, goddamn it." Naruto actually looks angry with Sasuke. Does he really want to save me that badly? Or is he just loyal to his people? Technically, I'm not one of his people, so what should I matter?
And what of Shikamaru? Why isn't he down here, trying to save me, instead of this blonde buffoon and his lover?
Does he . . . really think I killed him?
Too many questions, Temari. Too many.
Just ignore these two men, and maybe they'll go away. Perhaps they'll realize she'll be fine, just as long as she's left alone.
All that pain, all that work, all for nothing. All for naught. All the held back screams and the sobs she shoved back down her throat. The hope she had seen in her brothers' eyes when they saw the unfinished shirts, hidden subtly in between the guilt and pain. All for naught.
"Talk, Lady Mine. Shikamaru's going to go mad. He is completely torn. On one hand, it is his wife, and on the other his best friend. You have to convince him that you did not do such a thing! Only your voice can do as much." She shakes her head, and throws another pebble in his direction.
"I still can't believe he's dead," Naruto murmurs, and backs away from her cell. It seems he has given up on trying to convince Temari to speak. Good. Perhaps he'll leave soon, and she won't have to think about Chouji anymore.
She has a good feeling that if it were light enough to really be able to see her hands, that they would still be stained with his blood. She holds back the tears, because she refuses to let these two men see her cry.
"He is, Naruto. He was a good man, and he did a great many things to earn himself the reputation he had. All we can do now is remember him." Sasuke reaches over and pulls Naruto in a one-armed embrace, and the blonde sighs.
"There's always vengeance."
"No. I know from personal experience that that's no good." Their voices are getting fainter, fainter. Temari sinks back into a pitch-black depression.
Temari is finally getting used to the silence, to the dark, to the rancid smell when more visitors come down to her cell.
"Lady M-mine?" a quiet, hesitant voice whispers. She recognizes the voice immediately; it belongs to the calm Hinata. She had made Temari's wedding dress and on several occasions kept her company. She seems out of place here, in the dungeons were criminals lying waiting for death.
"She can't answer you, Hinata," a second voice reminds her, gently. Although Temari isn't as familiar with this voice as she is with Hinata's, she knows it is Kiba, nonetheless. Hinata doesn't like to be away from him, and although he shows it less openly, he doesn't like to let her out of his sight either.
"I know." She hears the sound of keys jangling, and her head perks up. Is she . . . letting Temari out? The door creaks loudly as Hinata opens it, and her slippers make a light padding sound on the stone floor. Temari manages to make out a shadowy figure approaching me. She pushes herself against the wall.
I don't want her to touch me, she thinks, desperately gripping the rough wall.
"Lady Mine?" she repeats, and Temari wishes she wasn't from the Hyuga witch clan. With those eyes it's impossible to hide from her, even in this darkness. Hinata's soon leaned over her, but Temari still can't make out the details on her face.
Without saying a word, Hinata places something on her lap. Temari feels the familiar prickle against her legs, and she grips the item tightly in her hands. That's a mistake, but the pain is worth it. Her nettle shirts are back in her possession. She wants to thank Hinata, to hug her, to shower her with praise, but she's silent.
"I know you wouldn't want to be separated from it for too long," Hinata murmurs soothingly, and places a tender hand on Temari's shoulder. Temari flinches and pulls away. The bruises are still there.
"Lady Mine, it's just me. You know me." She seems to be reaching over to touch Temari again, but before she can Temari jumps up, and rushes away from her. Kiba growls at her from the dungeon door, where he's standing watch in case she attempts to escape. They're not here to save her, then.
"They're going to kill you, Lady Mine. Shikamaru doesn't know whether or not you really killed Chouji. But Lady Yoshino (x) certainly thinks you did. Shikamaru drank too much at the dinner table and accidentally let slip how he thought you were most likely from the Sand kingdom. Because of that, of course, Lady Yoshino thinks the worst of you now, as do some others, especially Lords Chomaru (x) and Inoichi (x). They were so close to the late Hokage (x), after all . . . If they hadn't known you were from the Sand, there might have been a chance for you to only be exiled."
What? Temari thinks, still huddled against the wall, holding the two shirts. How had he figured out she was from the Sand? She had known he was clever but . . . just how intelligent was he?
And what did her being from the Sand kingdom have to do with anything? She had nothing to do with the former Hokage, and had barely even met Lords Chomaru and Inoichi. What grudge could they possibly have against her?
Temari looks up when she hears Hinata move towards the dungeon door again. She could probably force her way through the two of them, if she really wanted to. But then there would be guards and warriors in the castle itself, not to mention Shikamaru himself. She barely beat him one on one. She would not make it out alive, even if she were not hungry and tired from insomnia.
"I hope you don't have family waiting for you, Lady Mine," Kiba says, sounding almost apologetic. "You're never going to see them again, and the only part of you they'll see is a corpse." Hinata doesn't cover up for him; she doesn't say a thing. Temari sighs. Hinata must agree with him, but doesn't have the courage to say it.
The worst thing is that Temari is afraid they may be right.
They're bringing up the pole, his people. This is an old, old custom, one he hadn't thought he would ever see actually occur in his lifetime.
They're going to burn his wife at stake.
They have her tied up between two warriors, two strong youths called Konohamaru and Moegi. She looks determined, undefeatable, even now. Is this just an act? She's standing there, her back straight as a bamboo stick, looking at him, only him, those damned things in her arms once more—who had brought them to her?
And he can read her eyes, now more than ever. Is it that aura that has suddenly surrounded her? She seems to be surrounded by green aura, one he has noticed on several of his closest companions (x), namely those with a knack for magic.
He regrets having said those things at the dinner table. He doesn't truly know if he believes Mine really murdered Chouji, even though all the proof points to her. Even so, his mother, his people, won't allow her to live. In the end, the people control the Hokage, not the other way around.
But as the scenery grows, I see in different lights. The shades and shadows undulate in my perception. My feelings swell and stretch; I see from greater heights. I understand what I am still too proud to mention—to you.
It was announced that as soon as the sun begins to set they would light the fire. The sun was setting. Shikamaru is standing nearest the stake, his mother at his right and Lady Ino at his right. He turns to look at Ino. This has been especially hard on her, Shikamaru thinks sadly. She loved Chouji very much, and his loss was as much of a blow to her as it was to him.
She had never made her feels for the large man clear, but Shikamaru had always suspected she cared for him more than she let on. Either way, she had loved him and had shed a great many tears at his funeral.
"I am glad she is going to die," she hisses, glaring at Mine with passionate fury in her eyes. Smoldering hate seems to come off her in waves, and Shikamaru almost flinches.
"What if she didn't do it, Ino?" He asks his old friend.
She turns to him, her angry gaze now aimed at him. "The blood was on her hands! What more proof do you want, Shikamaru? You told us you were marrying this Mine for her protection, but I think you can't lie to me! I know you too well. You love her, Shikamaru. Don't let your feelings cloud your judgment. She killed your best friend, you can't possibly feel compassion for her!"
You'll say you understand, but you don't understand. You'll say you'd never give up seeing eye to eye. But never is a promise, and you can't afford to lie.
It is true, isn't it? He had fallen in love with Mine. He had even admitted it to her himself. Did he love her still, even with the chance that she had killed his best friend?
"Shikamaru," his mother puts in coldly, and both Ino and Shikamaru turn to look at her in surprise. "Lady Ino is right. She killed Chouji. And her people killed your father. You have a duty to your people to protect them."
Four years since it had happened. The relationship between the Sand kingdom and the Leaf kingdom had been peaceful, and none had suspected foul play. So when several people from the Sand asked to stay at the castle to rest for a night, his father had agreed without hesitation.
Then, that night, a scream was heard from the dining room. The warriors guarding the castle that night came running, only to find their Hokage dead and the Sand visitors fleeing. They had managed to catch one, but it had not revealed anything. The woman had remained silent until the moment she died, which was soon after.
That must be a Sand trait, Shikamaru thinks morosely. Silence.
And if Mine had really killed Chouji, then that must be yet another Sand trait. Murder.
They are pulling Mine up on the pile of straw that surrounds the stake. She isn't fighting them, but she refuses to let go of the nettle shirts.
"Let her keep them," Shikamaru calls out to the two warriors, and they relent. Mine looks at him with eyes full of gratitude. He looks away.
You'll never touch - these things that I hold. The skin of my emotions lies beneath my own. You'll never hear the message I give. You'll say it looks as though I might give up this fight.
He'll never know now why she was silent. He'll never know why she hurt herself or why she had been hiding in trees when he had first found her that day two years before. Her secrets will burn with her in the flames.
The sun is setting.
"The sun has touched the horizon! Burn her! May she burn in hell!" He stares at his mother with look of surprise. He had never heard his mother speak in such a manner. It seemed so crude of her. Her eyes were as angry as Ino's. As he glanced around at the people that were now surrounding the stake, he saw the same expression in most of their faces.
Naruto and Sasuke are donning similar expressions. They don't show a thing, but simply gaze at the scene playing out before them stoically. Hinata is gripping Kiba's arm tightly, and seems to be forcing herself to look, tears threatening to spill over. Neji is staring at Mine with an expression that looks like curiosity and disgust at the same time. Sakura is glaring openly at Mine, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. He couldn't find Lee or Tenten in the crowd.
Most of the warriors and a lot of his people had begun to chant, "Burn in hell, burn in hell," repeating his mother's words.
The torch was lowered to the straw.
Mine seems to finally be shocked into reality as she gazes down at the flames licking at her feet. Her eyes look scared, and she pushes herself as far from the fire as she can.
He hears several curious whispers around him, but Shikamaru ignores them, his eyes glued to Mine. He wants to see her alive as long as he can.
And so he doesn't notice the two huge birds come down from her sky, their feathers raining down upon the crowd. At least not until they are nearly at the burning stake. By the time they are right in front of the flames, they are completely human. One of them has dark brown hair, the other has red. Shikamaru watches as his warriors rush at them, drawing their swords and aiming their kunai.
The smaller boy turns on them, his eyes blazing with anger and mouth moving, crying spells and curses faster than Shikamaru can keep up with. His warriors lie defeated in mere seconds.
Meanwhile, the older one is trying to extinguish the fire, but failing.
Mine is unwrapping the shirts, her skirt beginning to catch fire, but her voice still as silent as ever. This pushes Shikamaru into action.
"Mine! Stop, stop!" He screams at his warriors, rushing towards to the stake, towards Mine, towards the fire. She looks up at him, her hands faltering slightly at her task.
I don't know what to believe in, you don't know who I am. But never is a promise and I'll never need a lie.
And then something hits Shikamaru squarely in the stomach. The dark-haired man had thrown a stone at him. "Stay away from us, damn it!" The man cries, his eyes tearing from the smoke.
The flames are spreading.
Shikamaru watches numbly, helplessly, as the two strangers begin to change, their skin growing white and feathers appearing where there had once been skin. They were returning to their original forms. And the fire is still burning strong!
He has to quench the fire, he realizes desperately. He forces his mind to work, trying to think of a way to save her.
She's . . . she's throwing the shirts over the fire? Two shirts . . . and two swans. Shikamaru quickly puts two and two together, and runs to pick up the nettle items. He's in a panic, he doesn't see anything but those two shirts, the swans, Mine.
Put them on the birds, he thinks. Somehow this will save Mine! He knows it will. It has to. Because he knows there's no way he's going to blow out that fire otherwise. And then she's be . . .
He grabs the shirts, ignoring the pain as the hairs sink into his hands. The swans are moving towards him, and they seem to be caught up in the same thing he is, panic, move, quick, smell of burning flesh . . .
He pushes the things over the first one's head, and there's a flash, but he can't stop and pay attention to it, not when there's the other one . . . It's too small. The shirt isn't fitting. He put the big shirt on the smaller bird, he realizes. He pulls and pulls, determined to make it fit, to save Mine, somehow.
Fate was with him. It fit. And behind him a low, hoarse cry was heard, and a tornado hits.
Wow. I think I was writing for more than an hour straight. I don't know if it was worth it xP
