Insomnia

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Thanks to all the reviews! Especially cherz, IQSymphic (I just need more time and I will TRY to write longer), SILENT TROWA, allyluv, AriesFalcon (thanks for saying so, but, I'm not a ShikaIno fan, sorry if I don't put ShikaIno here) uh and pretty much everybody else! Oh and, I'm not writing too much about Gaara coz I fear I can't master him that well, um, but I'll try anyway, Konoha Ninja Sasuke's lover

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CHPT 3 Chance and Disappointment

Kankuro stood in the corridor, on one side of which stood the locked door to his sister's room. He hesitated for a while, scanning up and down the corridor, before putting his hand on the door handle. She must have locked it, but it was worth a try, he thought, as the handle turned and the door clicked open. Strange isn't it? She always leaves it locked…

Kankuro stepped into the scarcely furnished room he had known vaguely from previous visits, but it didn't look quite the same. Admittedly, the last time he was here was about 5 years ago, and its owner had certainly changed it a lot since his last visit.

Temari's room now appeared even barer than before. She seemed to have removed most of the furniture, and most of the personal objects had already been stowed away.

As he closed the door behind him and looked around, he noted that it looked much simpler, too simple for a girl's room. It could not have been distinguished from a boy's room if it had not been for the fact that there was less clutter strewn across the room ----well, making it a little bit neater than his own.

Feeling a little guilty, he strolled across the room. Well, it's her fault she doesn't care a damn what I think! Then I'll try to find out on my own! He walked passed the closet in which Temari stored her weapons, and the worn wardrobe beside it, reaching the small bed in the corner. At the foot of the bed was a desk, on which lay several books on tactics, an old pen stand, a couple of minuscule fans he had given her for her birthday and an open notepad. He glanced at the blank pages: nothing was written in it, but pages seemed to have ripped off the pad rather violently. A half-curtained window above the desk cast a few rays of light upon the desktop, illuminating the few possessions on it.

Shrugging slightly, Kankuro turned to Temari's bedside table. He guessed there was little to be gleaned from his intrusion; his sister seemed to conceal her secrets fairly well. Doesn't look like it, does she?

There was an old-fashioned oil lamp on the bedside table, next to a very battered looking clock (one of its hands was snapped)-----he remembered Temari chucking it at him on his last visit, missing his head by two inches and it smashed into the wardrobe instead. He grinned ruefully at this. He supposed the reason she flung it at him led to his being banned from her room since. He found a heavy crystal locket on the table, too; he didn't remember her ever wearing it, but judging from its location she treasured it considerably. The locket contained nothing more than a few leaves; he couldn't make out why she put them in there.

Kankuro prepared to leave the room when his attention was drawn to the revolving photo stand behind the clock. Temari had put only two pictures on it before, but she had increased the number. He bended over for a look at it just out of interest: there were the old photos, one of the team and another of the family (taken many years ago, when both their parents were alive; Gaara obviously wasn't in it); there were newly-added ones, one of Gaara becoming Kazekage, one of himself (he thought it looked rather foolish), one of Temari on her first day as jounin, and, turning the stand slowly with his hand, another picture, depicting somebody outside the family…somebody who wasn't even a Sand shinobi…

Uh-oh. Kankuro's gaze froze as he studied the photo carefully. He knew that person, definitely, one sunny day in the stone arena in another village…So you have not been able to conceal it as well, Temari…I know now, I can put two and two together…Now the problem is, should I tell Gaara, or should I keep it for you?

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Temari felt disgruntled as she trudged up the road leading to the Leaf village. It was not her first visit, but something just didn't feel right…

Nevertheless, when she finally found herself at the grand gate of the village, all feelings of glumness seemed to drop out of her, as she stared at the symbols on the gate. This place, this foreign village, felt strangely like home to her.

After setting an appointment with the Hokage for next morning, Temari decide to kill the hours by roaming the streets. She felt strangely lonely…well, she guessed she shouldn't have shouted at Kankuro like that, he would gladly hang out with her if she wanted to (well, she supposed it was just due to the fact that he would receive highly painful whacks on the head if he refused)…but then, when she was alone in the Leaf, she still had somebody to accompany her----

Temari drew up short. Hang on, she thought, I didn't catch sight of him in the Hokage's building today!

And without stopping to consider, her feet carried her off towards the hills and grass around the village, the perfect place for cloud-gazing.

The clouds were floating lazily across the sky, but there was no sight of a certain ponytailed lazyass. Feeling thoroughly disappointed, Temari turned her back on the place (she would have done so anyway, after she had seen the closely wrapped couple she made out to be a certain Inuzuka and a Hyuuga) and wandered gloomily back to the main streets of the village.

Where would he be now? Her mind worked furiously and the next minute she was outside the Nara estate. She dithered a bit ob the spot, contemplating whether it would be suitable for her to turn up on his doorstep all of a sudden, before putting out a hand to ring the doorbell. Her hand had barely reached it when a voice sounded behind her, 'Good morning, Temari-san.'

Jumping up in shock, Temari spun around, her hand leaping to her weapon instinctively----'Oh, hello, Chouji.'

The fat, bulky boy was cramming chips into his mouth as usual. Crunching loudly, he said, 'How come you are here?'

Surprised that he would ask, Temari replied, 'On a mission, of course.' And on catching his eyes roving between her and the house---he had to know who lived there did he---she added hastily, 'I'm just wandering around, y'know.'

'Oh,' Chouji said.

There was silence except for Chouji chewing loudly. Then, before Temari could issue a question about the whereabouts of Chouji's best friend, he said, quite unexpectedly, 'Shikamaru is not in the village for the moment. He has gone on a mission to the Sound.'

Eyes widening, Temari stared at Chouji for a few moments, before saying, 'Oh well, that's all right with me, and, er, I think I'm going back to my hotel.'

Then, she added in a quiet voice, 'Thank you.' Before turning away from the house and along the road.

She thought she had seen a rather knowing look in Chouji's eyes.

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So, the end of this chapter! How is it, guys? R&R pls! And by the way, what do you think of my language, coz I'm not a native speaker y'know.