You know… I'll be honest….
It's been a hard summer and I wanted to get this story finished soI can concentrate on other ideas. Admittedly, I didn't pull full effortn (ashamed). So... in my opinion it sucks sand but… who knows I might just be effected by this funky grey cloud I'm under. it thunders and rains on her Grrrrrr!
. I'll probably end up taking this down (or at least rewriting it) so enjoy it (or not) while you can.
Sorry
Gaara relunctantly watched the bird disappear into the sky when a blonde with a swaying long ponytail approached Shikamaru and punched him lightly in the arm. "Stop looking so depressed! Are you going to watch the fireworks tonight?" Ino held up a flyer displaying colorful fireworks.
Shikamaru took the flyer and glossed over it. "I really don't feel up to it-"
"Why? Come one, Shikamaru! Stop being a lazy bum and come. Chouji's going and since you're the leader, you should come too," she pressed. It was only then that she noticed Kankurou and Gaara standing nearby. "Whoa, it's those guys!... Shikamaru?"
"Temari's gone missing. They just came to ask if I knew what happened to her..." He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. Ino winced and looked as though she tasted something bad.
Realizing she didn't want to be involved in drama involving the likes of the Sand siblings she back way and gaive a half-heart apology to Gaara and Kankurou. She ran down the street and met up with some friends. Shikamaru thought he saw her point there way but didn't dwell on the thought much.
"You should go to the fireworks..." Gaara spoke up. "They're your team after all. Kankurou and I will probably leave tonight."
"Yeah, since Leaf won't give us a damn bit of help!" he spat bitterly.
"I can't help that!" Shikamaru snapped back. They stood glaring at each other for a second before Shizune came running down the stairs. She held her chest and took deep breaths. "Boys, boys! I just got some information that might interest you." She handed a scroll over to Shikamaru.
He untied the read string and began reading a mission report for a group that headed north. His eyes went wide as we stared at the words before him. After he finished, much to the delight of an annoyed Kankurou and to a lesser extent Gaara, he rolled the scroll up and took off down the road.
"HEY!" Kankurou yelled. "What's going on!"
Shikamaru blinked and skidded to a stop. "It's Temari! I know where she is!...I mean... know what she is!" The two boys caught up with him.
"Slow down, we aren't following you, brat! What did the report say?"
"There have been a dozen kidnappings in the northern regions. All of them young, blonde girls. Pretty girls. It goes on to say that only one girl returned alive, or at all for that matter."
Gaara and Kankurou waited patiently for him to go on but Shikamaru seemed to pause to consider he words carefully. "GO ON!" the older boy yelled so loud, they caught the stares of passersby.
Shikamaru looked to the sky. "The girl couldn't speak. Only chirp. Like a bird... She was kidnapped again and disappeared. The report said they couldn't catch who caught her but her malady seemed like some joke of a jutsu... But I think it's a sick joke...and very serious."
"I don't get it. Someone's kidnapping girls and turning them into birds? Why?" Gaara inquired. He narrowed his eyes and took the scroll to read the report for himself.
"So we head back to Rain and find someone buying a ton of bird food." Kankurou clicked his tongue. "She really got herself into a stupid mess, but at least we aren't clueless."
Shikamaru crossed his arms and started walking. "Apparently you are. Temari was the bird I found. She almost died trying to get here and warn us."
Temari sat in a tree and watched the humans below her mill back and forth. The wind felt nice when it blew through her feathers. She hopped down to a stone wall and looked inside a store window across the street and saw a girl trying on a long-sleeved kimono. Something about it seemed familiar... She tilted her avian head and made small noise as the memory came rushing back.
Temari stopped as she say a woman struggling with a trunk that had fallen off her carriage, spilling its content on the road.
"Are those kimono?" she asked idly, adjusting her backpack.
The woman looked up and smiled. "Why yes. I'm a kimono maker. I hit a bump in the road and I suppose this wasn't very secure... could you help me?"
"Uh...Sure, I guess..." She looked at her pack, wondering if it would delay her much to help someone. Deciding it wouldn't and that she'd like a closer look at the woman's wares, she began to put the clothing back in the trunk. After a few minutes, all was set right and she began to secure the trunk on the carriage. "That should do it. This road isn't too bad but take it easy if you aren't in a hurry."
When she turned to face the woman, she was holding a kimono in her arms. "I want to give you this. I think it will suit you well."
"Oh! The thing is I'm a little in a hurry-"
"To see the daimyo, yes?" Temari narrowed her eyes a bit, which must have alarmed the woman, since she began shaking her head furiously. "Your bag slipped open and I saw the scroll. It's an official one. I've made kimono for the daimyo's daughters, you see. I know about court happenings."
Still hesitant, Temari checked her pack and secured the zipper. "At any rate, I really don't have the time. I was only helping so that kind of gift is a bit much."
"But it would look so good on you! I have just the obi and everything. No man could resist a beautiful thing like you in one of my kimono. I think the daimyo would be rather lenient on a woman beautifully dressed, don't you?"
It seemed to make sense and it would reflect well on Sand if she dressed elegantly. "...Well... all right. I guess it won't hold me back too much."
Delighted, the woman escorted her to the nearest town where she rented a room for the sole purpose of fitting the kimono on Temari. Indeed the garment was gorgeous. It was a light blue with strange long-tails birds flowing around it. It sparkled in the light with silver threads throughout. The long sleeves almost seemed like wings as she held her arms out, the woman began to fit the obi. It was a royal purple affair. The whole thing made Temari feel light, airy, and beautiful.
"Aaah, I told you it would suit you well... Shall I do your hair? It's so beautiful..." The woman's voice seemed dreamy.
Blushing with embarrassment, Temari agreed, sitting down before a vanity. The woman took her ponytails down and began to brush her hair. The young kunoichi recalled the times when her mother would do her hair. The familiar feeling of that soothed her. She relaxed and did not recall falling asleep.
When she awoke, the woman and the room were gone. Instead, she was in a cage. She yelled out but the sound was not her own voice, it came as a lilting warble. She saw the closed cage door and jumped over to it. She gripped the bars with her feet. She screamed and fell to the bottom of the cage as she let go in surprise.
The familiar woman approached the cage and smiled. "Awake, my pretty bird? You're an excellent addition to my collection." She opened her arms and Temari noted for the first time that she was in a room filled with hundreds of birds, each different. "I was lucky to find such a wonderful specimen for that kimono. Oh don't look like that. Such an ugly face even for such a delicate bird." The trickster wore a Cloud headband, but it was badly damaged. A missing Nin perhaps, she thought.
"You're angry now but soon you'll begin to forget who you are. The jutsu will eliminate all that makes you human and in short time... you will only exist to make beautiful music for me..." Temari gasped. The Cloud ninja laughed and began to walk away.
When the door shut, Temari jumped back to the bars. "SHIT! I'm going to kill her! I have to get out of here..."
She pecked at the latch on the door but to no avail. "It's not working... I may be a bird but I should still be a ninja." She jumped to her perch and concentrated as best as she could, but already her mind was becoming hazy. She realized that her time was short if she was ever to escape.
"Kamaitachi!" She flapped her wings and unleashed a small wind with chakra. It cut the latch almost through but enough was left that it held the door closed. Temari jumped on the door with her full weight and the door fell open. She swooped onto a desk and looked for an exit. There was none at the moment but the ninja would have to return home and then she would escape.
She shook her head as the girl left with friends to head to another shop. "I don't have much time...I've already forgotten how to use jutsu..." Temari hopped down the ground feeling hungry and began peck and scraps. Suddenly, a shadow overcame her and trapped her. "She's caught me! I'm going to die!"
"Temari! Shhhh!" Shikamaru soothed. "Geez, don't make a scene." He gently released her shadow so that she could fly to his shoulder. She nuzzled his cheek happily.
Gaara petted her back. "You're safe now. We need to ger her Tsunade."
Kankurou considered his avian sister. "I don't get it... The guy was kidnapping pretty girls... So why was Temari even considered?" His answer was a furious pecking. "It's her! It's definitely her!" He said trying to protect his face.
"Serves you right... Let's go." Gaara held his hand out to his sister, letting her land on his fingers. They all headed to Tsunade's.
The Fifth Hokage blinked rapidly. "That story was true!" She had to pick her jaw from the ground... "To be honest... I have no idea what to do."
"WHAT?" Kankurou slammed his hands on her desk. "What kind of Hokage are you! You're supposed to know these things."
Tsunade stood up and leaned on her desk angrily. "Excuse me! And watch your mouth, you little brat, or I won't help you at all!"
"Sit down and shut up, Kankurou!" Gaara hissed. "Sorry... We're just a little agitated about this whole thing."
"I understand..." She sat down and laced her fingers. "I'll have to do some research… Until then you boys keep her safe." She caught Kankurou's expression from the corner of her eye. "I'll make it my top priority." Relieved, the boys and Temari left her office.
As night approached, Shikamaru and the Brothers of Sand sat on Nara's front lawn and stared at the sky. Mrs. Nara was relieved to know that she did not kill her son's girlfriend but went on a tirade about what kind of person makes such troublesome jutsu.
"Well, you boys should get ready for the fireworks. I put your kimono out for you, Shikamaru, and I got some for you boys as well."
"Aah, I-" Kankurou stammered. "We…" He looked to Gaara who looked equally at a loss. "Uh… thanks."
Shikamaru, however, was annoyed. "What do you mean get ready? Since when do you go making plans for us!"
"You're welcome! It'll be good for you boys to get out and enjoy some fun and games. I don't want to see your moping faces around here." She grumbled ushering Gaara and Kankurou into their room to get changed.
"Tch… Troublesome woman..." He walked into his room; Temari perched on his shoulder and shut the door. He began peeling of his clothing, when the door opened. "MOM!" Wordlessly, his mother walked in and gently snatched up Temari from her perch on his bedpost. She gave him a look that said, "She's still your girlfriend, you naughty boy" and left.
Shikamaru put on the forest green kimono with ivory vines printed crawling up the fabric and pulled his ponytail loose. He walked out from his room and greeted Kankurou and Gaara. Kankurou was in a simply black kimono with a moon on his shoulder and white grass at the bottom and Gaara was in a light gold colored kimono with a large eagle in the back and various feathers falling down. Both were blushing his Shikamaru's mother doted on them.
"You both look so handsome. Now go on and enjoy yourselves." She shooed them out of the door, kissing all three on the head before shutting them out.
"That was weird." Kankurou muttered, scratching his head.
"Don't let that mother routine fool you," Shikamaru griped. "She probably has plans and needed a convenient excuse to shove us out. Pft. Woman." He stroked Temari's head. "Well, let's go."
They found a spot on a hill to sit and watch the first round of fireworks. Temari was about to fly off to explore the festival, when Gaara caught her in his hand. "… Don't get any trouble…like…with a cat." Temari made a warbling laugh and nodded. He let her go.
She didn't get far in her flight before something snagged her from the air. My little gem... did you truly think that you could escape me..." came a familiar voice."I shall have to get you a better cage." With that, she was forced into a tiny metal prison, so small she could not spread her wings at all. "There, that will keep you from being any trouble.
"You bitch! I'll peck your eyes out!"
"You'll do no such thing! Such a dirty mouth, you should have forgotten you were human by now... Such a strong will." She considered Temari lovingly. She reached a hand out to stroke her blue feathers. "You certainly are a wonderful catch."
Suddenly the warmth of blood was on her face. She shook her head and noted the kunai piercing the Cloud ninja's outstretched hand. She turned to see Shikamaru standing down the lane, hair being blown in the wind.
"Let her go."
The Cloud ninja laughed a little and wagged her finger. "I'm afraid I can't do that. You see, if I do then-" The rest of the explanation as cut off as she fell backwards from the force delivered by Shikamaru's fist.
"I said… let her go." His tone was calm, even, yet somehow cold. Temari's cage was rattled, and she did her best not to get hurt when the ninja fell. She was startled at his speed. Was this really her 'lazy, cloud-watching genius'?
Rubbing the now purpling spot on her colored lips, the kunoichi rose to a kneel and gave Shikamaru a challenging look. "Oh, I see. This bid I have must have been very important to you. Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you but the jutsu is completely irreversible. By now, she's probably lost all of her humanity." She gave a rasping chuckle. "Shame really. I guess there's nothing you can d-!"
Again with amazing speed, Shikamaru struck; his kick sent Temari's captor skidding into a tree. Shikamaru knelt down and opened the tiny cage door. He gave her a quick look to be sure wasn't obviously hurt. Satisfied, his attentions turned back to the Cloud ninja. "If it can't be reversed then there's no reason to let you live." He shadow snaked towards the woman and climbed her body. A shadow-shaped hand wrapper around her throat and began to squeeze the life from her body. "You have made so many suffer. Temari nearly died escaping you. Her brothers have been worried to death. And I… have been put through enough." He ignored the choking noises coming from the Cloud ninja.
"Tell me how to reverse the jutsu," he ordered as the woman's lips turned from pink to blue.
"You can't re-" The hand tightened threateningly. "…The kimonos I make create the jutsu. I weave chakra into them…and… the clothes are bound to the wearer. There's nothing you can do! It's impo-"There was a crack and the ninja fell limp, head tilted further to the side than nature would allow.
"You didn't even let her finish…" Gaara mused coming from the shadows.
Shikamaru sighed. "It would have been troublesome to do that. Wasn't saying much anyhow…"
The young Sand child considered his sister and whispered, "What do we do?"
"Go back to Kankurou… tell him what happened…" Temari chirped sadly on his finger. "I'm sorry, love. This is one thing I can't figure out…"
"That's not important, I suppose." He raised her to eye level giving her a clear view of his regretful face. "Silly, Nara. Don't go worrying about things you can't change. This is troublesome but…"
"Shikamaru! Your mother says-" Hiashi looked at the silenced ninja on the ground. "What happened hear?"
Shikamaru sighed deeply, and stroked Temari's head and back. "I guess it's my duty as chuunin to tell you, huh?" He explained, leaving Hiashi mute. "I don't expect a medal or anything. I shouldn't have killed her in the first place but I guess I was upset…"
Hiashi considered the young ninja before him. "She was dangerous… I suppose we can forgive this. You want… no reward?"
"What I want…" he began. "No one can give." He leaned in and kissed Temari on he soft head. His lips lingered on her warmth as he closed his eyes tight, trying to recall what she felt like. Hiashi reached out to the bird and ran his finger down her back.
"Funny thing about clothes that aren't made well… Cut one string and they fall apart."
Shikamaru opened his eyes to address Hiashi but found his lips planted tightly on Temari's lips. They looked at each other for a moment, surprised they were seeing eye-to-eye before they realized what they were doing.
"AH!" he back off and rubbed his neck.
"Sorry." Temari blushed and looked down. The cord wrapped around her obi was cut and lying at her feet. "How did you know?"
Shikamaru cleared his throat. "He could see the flow of chakra and knew where the critical point was.Never would have thought of that. Thank you, Hyuuga-sama. I'll be sure to report this to Tsunade." He nodded furiously. "Now we can help the other victims." He rocked on his heels, trying not to think of the kiss and subsequently grin like an idioit.
"Young love. Hn." Hiashi muttered to himself. "Enjoy the rest of the night. Your mother says…"Don't leave you clothes bunched on the floor. She's not your slave.' Good night." With that he continued on down the path.
The young Leaf ninja pretended to be interested in the corpse. "Well, I guess I'll go report this attack. You should go see your brothers. They're worried sick. I was too, I just…" Temari moved over to him and hugged him tightly. "I…just…Ah…" He looked down at her as she looked up at him.
"Some genius…and it was the old man who saved me in the end," she teased.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Aaah, I think I liked it better when you couldn't talk… Your nagging sounded so much prettier."