Hidy ho there everybody! I was so happy when I checked my reviews today! So many reviews, so little time. Though I do have some points to clear up.
First off, at the time I was writing this, I had Junichi envisioned as a completely different character and ended up having to go through and edit these chapter majorly. At first, I was going to make him a complete psycho, but I mellowed him out instead. If there's any confusion, it's because I didn't edit properly. Sorry bout that.
Secondly: The timeline. My initial envisioning was hazy. I started off without knowing where I was and by the time I got to this point, I thought I was going to do it before the Sasuke incident, but after the chuunin exam. Later on, I decided I wanted to follow Master Kishimoto's plot and entertwine with it more. I ended up writing the chuunin exam and the Sasuke incident. I didn't want to start trying to go through with my own plot just yet. I wanted to set the stage the way I wanted it, instead of carrying on with what Master Kishimoto left me. Any confusion is a serious result of bad editing. I apologize completely for it.
thirdly: This is one of, if not my favorite chapterI have ever written in this story. It's the first hint at romance that I ever really put in the story. The thing with Junichi and Ayane wasn't a real romance event in my eyes, and this is. I just want you to know that I do listen to music while I write, and I was probably listening to Slipknot, A7X, Atreyu, Counting Crows, Third Eye Blind, or The Blood Brothers when I wrote it. Normally I would throw on some Brand New for the romance, but I slip up alot and well...things happen. My bad.
I dont own Naruto, any of the bands mentioned above, or the ability to tapdance. Enjoy the freakin story and review like a frightened idiot.
Training was awesome. Both teams were mostly long-range people. Temari and Junichi were the ones who packed the power though. Saotome proved to be a hand-to-hand specialist, his ability to see into the future coming into play. Ayane wasn't good for a whole lot. They kept trying to find something for her to specialize in, but it just wasn't working for her. They decided in the end to just train her in taijutsu so that she could go to the frontlines with Saotome. Gaara and Kankuro were almost chiefly used as defense. Gaara could rip through people like rags, but they refused to put him alone and they needed defense, which he was extremely good at. Kankuro was pissed that they thought of his puppets only as fodder to block shots. It pissed him off to no end. But Temari, like any good older sibling, beat him into agreeing.
Junichi was training with Gaara a lot. He trained with everyone really, trying to master a few key jutsus that he thought he might need. He began teaching them the secrets of his chakra expelling techniques. It was basically tree climbing or water walking taken to the extreme. Junichi was pushing it to unseen levels though, and could even levitate for short amounts of time. He was revealing all that was asked, and learning all he could. Kanoe was indifferent. She was a jounin, and a pretty good one at that. She was mostly offensive, but as the team leader, she tried to focus on making decisions.
As far as everyone was getting along…well lets say that it was generally good for everyone, except Saotome. Temari would seem to go out of her way to beat him extra bad. Instead of even using her fan for ninjutsu, she just hit him with the hard edges. Gaara was on good terms with everyone, and seemed to be even trying to act more normal. It just came off as extra creepy though. Junichi was kind of like their overlord, and everybody generally wanted to kick his ass while they were training. Outside of training, everything was peachy though. Ayane was trying her hardest to make friends, but the sand and the leaf are very different villages, and her overwhelming good nature just kind of annoyed everyone. Guess they aren't that different after all…
The day came when they finally had to start reconnaissance. They were all put in teams of two that would take shifts alternately. Much to Temari's dismay, she was paired with Saotome. They were mixing strengths, not how much each one liked each other. Junichi and Ayane ended up in a team as well. Gaara was put with Kankuro because that was all they had left. The idea was to either watch the desert, or to actually venture into it. They had no clue how long this would last.
Junichi volunteered himself and Ayane to be the first ones to go out. He had planned to circle the village for a while, thinking that was the likeliest place for the terrorists to put their tunnels. Early in the morning, he and Ayane set out with a single pack of supplies between them intended to last all day.
They walked in silence in the desert, neither really having anything to say. Junichi regarded Ayane kind of like a dopey little sister, while she was secretly very fond of him. She was moved by his firmness, his stability, despite all that happened to him. She knew that if there was a great war and everyone died, he would be the only one left with the cockroaches. Then the thought of bugs sent shivers up her spine.
Junichi was searching the area as best he could. He took mental notes of places that might have needed more investigation, and when he walked back to the crummy hotel room they had rented with Ayane almost asleep, he laid out his thoughts to Temari and Saotome, who would be next. Temari groaned at having to work with the loser and Saotome was afraid he would get his ass beat.
They next morning they headed out, keeping a sharp eye out or spots that Junichi has mentioned. Most of them turned out to be mirages though, and they were pretty relaxed.
"Hey Temari san" Saotome asked apprehensively "Why aren't you act like most girls tend to?"
Temari glared at him while asking with a threatening voice "Are you calling ME a freak? You're a lazy, creepy, perverted little man!"
"Ok, point well taken" he said with a sigh "I'm just saying you're a lot rougher around the edges than most girls. Do you even wear makeup or anything?"
Temari was about to smash him into little bits when she felt the ground shaking. Almost immediately, both of them were caught in the mouth of a sandworm as it flew upward. Saotome ended up holding its jaws apart by placing his body between them. Temari tried to figure out what to do while she sat on Saotome's stomach to prevent her from falling down its throat.
"WHY THE HELL AREN'T YOU DOING ANYTHING?" Saotome yelled at her "GET ME OUT OF HERE! I SWEAR TO GOD I WON'T ASK YOU ANY QUESTIONS OR LOOK THROUGH YOUR UNDERWEAR EVER AGAIN!"
"I'M THINKING YOU SON OF A BITCH!" she yelled back at him. Then Temari did the only thing she could do. She hugged him close to her and jumped as far away from the worm as she could.
Saotome started playing his guitar wildy on the ride down. Because of the adrenaline pumping, it only took him about halfway down to get it right. Luckily he was able to grab Temari and roll when he hit, so the shock didn't kill them. He then just threw her over his shoulder and began moving madly across the dunes. Every time the worm lunged, he seemed to be a step ahead. Finally after about thirty minutes of running, they lost him and rested down on the sand.
"Why…did you grab me…and help me like that" Temari panted "I'm…perfectly capable…of taking care of myself…thank you"
"Anything…for a pretty girl" Saotome said, equally tired "you don't mind…if I call you pretty…right?"
Temari was about to reply when the sand collapsed under her as the worm suddenly rose up to swallow her whole. Saotome acted instinctively and pulled her out of the way but it was a close one and the worm managed to rip her dress off.
Temari screamed bloody murder. Saotome, not knowing what to do, took a step toward her when the worm rose up again and completely took his pants off, missing only because he had taken that step forward.
This worm had to die. Saotome got his guitar ready, but then the worm came at them again, this time it took his shirt off. Now all hell would have to pay for what that worm did to them. Temari couldn't do much but run because she was trying to cover herself up. Saotome didn't mind it so much and was eventually able to stuff about five explosive tags down the creature's throat.
Saotome tiredly walked up to Temari who was turning bright red. He was in no mood to joke however, and she could tell as he stared into her eyes.
"Allright." He began "We're in the middle of the desert, almost completely naked. We can A) go back and endure the stares and laughs or B) we can wait here until the next team comes out to look for us. I'll let you choose because you seem to be more deeply disturbed by this than me."
Temari knew it would be the end of the world if she walked into the village with her and Saotome in their underwear. She knew the next team was her brothers, so it wasn't that bad. She decided to go with choice B.
The night wore on and they sat there about five feet apart, waiting for Gaara and Kankuro to show up. Neither said a word, or looked at each other. Well, Saotome looked at Temari a couple of times because she knew that she wasn't looking at him. She did have a nice rack after all. Then Saotome realized they had a problem. It was cold. At night the temperature in the desert plummeted to nearly freezing.
"Temari san" Saotome said, knowing he wouldn't like what was coming next "If we don't do anything about this cold, we could die."
"N-no" Temari replied immediately with her teeth chattering, "I k-know what you're t-thinking and the a-answer is n-no."
Saotome tried to be a man about the cold but knew they would die unless something was done.
"We have to do something Temari" he said, trying to be as careful about the subject as possible "We have nothing in are pack for building fires because we were supposed to be back already and we're in the desert. The only thing we have is…"
"I SAID NO YOU PERVERT!" she yelled at him "I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING AND YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A FILTHY PERVERTED BASTARD!"
"Temari" he said completely seriously "we will die out here. The blood will get too cold in our veins and our hearts will stop. We only have one option. We have to use each other's body heat to keep us warm."
Temari didn't say anything but she knew he was right. Slowly they moved together. Slowly he put his arm around her shoulder, making sure she didn't hit him and she didn't. She then carefully wrapped her arms around his waist. She hated it when other people were right, especially Saotome, and ESPECIALLY in a situation like this.
The night wore on and eventually; they became more comfortable about their current problem. It was almost as if they kind of…enjoyed it. Neither would ever admit it though, and they both knew it.
"Saotome san" Temari said quietly and peacefully "if you tell anybody about this I swear to god I will kill you. You will suffer a fate worse than death. I will torture you. There is no possible way to imagine the amount of pain you will be in."
Saotome chuckled. "I'm not that stupid." He stated with a grin "If I did, your brothers would kill me faster than you could. They look up to you, you know. Even Gaara has some form of respect for you. Or at least, I think its respect. Junichi must have softened him up quite a bit."
"I know they do" she said with a smile as she laid her head on his shoulder, causing Saotome to raise his eyebrows for a second. Its not that he disliked it, it was just so out of character. "But they would understand that I would have to kill you myself. They would only rough you up and let me go in for the torture and kill part."
"That's real comforting," he said sarcastically "And we both know my team wouldn't try to get me out. Junichi would remark about wasted talent and Ayane might cry for a little while. Kanoe would be pissed off because she would have to do the paperwork to get a new genin."
"Its good to know you're loved," Temari said, copying his sarcasm "Especially with the people you trust your life to. But it would be a waste of talent in a sense. You're ability to see into he future is one of the most useful techniques I've ever encountered."
"Well I wish I could say that were true" Saotome said, with a sigh "I can only read and predict what an opponent is likely to do based on they way they act and they fight. I can put the things I observe on the guitar and usually they all fill in together and make a song. If I know the song, I would naturally know what note was next and thus, what attack the enemy will perform. If I don't know the song though, I'm pretty much useless."
"Even still" Temari said with a yawn "your ability to observe things like that is outstanding, and your taijutsu is coming along well. You're only real flaw is your guitar actually. It's too big and hard to carry around. You need something better, or you need to be able to put things together without your guitar."
"Easy for you to say," he said smugly "you're in a whole different playing field. You have that fan that can destroy just about anything and block most attacks. Your taijutsu isn't great but you are able to get yourself out of a sticky situation if need be. Your chakra control is great. I was actually pretty surprised when we were training with Junichi."
"I have my flaws" Temari said tiredly "as do we all. And considering what you can do, you might just be on the same level as me. You're strategic abilities are about average, but they come to you quicker. You're so relaxed that you think clearly in all situations and thus, are able to formulate a more effective plan in tough situations. That in itself puts us at about equal."
Saotome smiled. She really was beautiful, and if you were able to get through all the Temari stuff, she was a really calm and nice person. Not only that, but their styles of fighting complimented each other almost perfectly. She was definitely a person worth having around, even if she did throw him out a window occasionally.
"You're tired," he said calmly as he pulled her down to the sand so they could sleep "I'll let you lay on top of me so that the cold sand doesn't bother you."
"Thanks" Temari mumbled as she moved herself more on top of him while he still kept his arm around her. In a few minutes she was asleep but Saotome remained awake for a while.
For some reason, something in his life wasn't normal anymore. His need for witty humor and sarcasm melted away. His lazy attitude came into question as well. He sat awake staring at the stars and thinking about how he was changing. The question that really bugged him though was why was he changing. He didn't really like change that much, and this had snuck up on him. If only he had a clue as to what it could be…oh well, it could wait until morning, he decided as he slowly drifted off into sleep.
The next morning seemed to come quickly. Saotome woke slowly when he felt something poking him in his rib. He still felt Temari on top of him and assumed it was her, but it persisted. Finally he groggily opened his eyes and saw Kankuro staring at him with hatred in his eyes. Of course, so early in the morning, Saotome didn't quite register what was in front of him and began thinking aloud.
"Damn" He said as he wiped the sleep out of his eyes with his free hand "There's some ugly ass animals out here in the desert."
"Think again you son of a bitch!" Kankuro yelled as he suddenly lifted Saotome up by the neck and punched him in the gut.
Saotome got the idea of what was going on real quick and wormed his way out of Kankuro's grasp with the wind knocked out of him.
"Kankuro san…." He tried to speak "Not…sandworms…no clothes…"
Kankuro decked him across the face, sending him flying back a few feet right over Temari, who was just now waking up. Saotome fell right at the feet of Gaara, who looked down at him evilly.
"You perverted little bastard," he stated with malice in his tone "To think that you would do that to Temari…make no mistake, we will kill you."
Saotome saw the sand gathering around him and quickly ran for it. He was only barely able to dodge most of the attacks that came at him. He had to hand it to the guys for standing up for their sister, but man, this was just plain unfair. The sand was starting to get hot now and every step burned his feet, not to mention the cuts and bruises he was getting from the occasional sand attack. It wasn't long before he was on his knees panting. He felt the chakra from the sand rise up around him. This was the final number of the most witty and sexy genius of Kohona.
Just as he was about to count his final note, he felt a rush of wind and the sand dissipated around him. All he could hear was Temari yelling, though he was so dazed, he didn't know what she was saying at first.
"For the love of Christ!" Temari exclaimed at her brothers "I'm flattered that you guys care about me, but we didn't do anything! The sandworms got my dress and not my skin thanks to Saotome and then they got his and then it got cold and dark! I would have like to have seen what you would have done in that kind of cold!"
"Are you actually defending him?" Kankuro asked incredulously "You know that little creep was thinking about sex the entire time! You said yourself that he was the most annoying and perverted being you had ever met!"
"You know…" Saotome panted, "I'm…standing…right here." Then the sand swallowed him up to his head. Not a real pleasant feeling.
"Do you really think I would let him do anything? You had better not be calling me a slut!" she yelled at him now even angrier "It was cold and we didn't have the stuff to build a fire! And I could have died if it weren't for Saotome san. He may be a loser, but he knows when to control himself."
"Kankuro," Gaara interrupted, "I think she's telling the truth. If they had been doing anything, their clothes would be somewhere near here. Besides, I think we could trust Temari not to give herself up so easily."
"Why thank you Gaara" Temari said as she crossed her arms "I'm glad to see that SOMEBODY doesn't think so little of me. Now if you could, please release Saotome and bring us some clothes…and Gaara, Kankuro, you tell anybody and I swear I'll kill you. I don't care how powerful you are or even the fact that we're family. I'll kill you. Nobody would try to stop me either."
Gaara smirked and Kankuro shivered as they walked back towards the village. Saotome managed to get a hand above the sand and was pulling his way out. He slowly walked over to her.
"Thanks for not letting them kill me" he said "If they hadn't have killed me, they might have ripped my balls off and I just can't have that."
"No problem. We're even now understand." Temari said with a smirk not unlike Gaara's "But I do want to thank you for being mature about the whole situation. I can't see you as the type of person who would get serious about anything, and you proved me wrong."
"Well it wasn't easy" he said with a sarcastic smile "You only laid on a couple of death threats I know you're more than capable of carrying out. Not nearly as bad as that time I was in the war, where I got my fifth scar with the natives tried to torture me and get information."
"Saotome…" Temari said with a smile "Drop the bullshit. You and I both know that last night was the closest thing to a REAL woman as you'll ever get."
"Well.." Saotome said, "You definitely are the sexiest one thus far. And don't try and say you didn't enjoy it. I know you did. It's only natural around a proven sex machine like myself."
Temari hit him in the face with a smile. He wasn't a half bad guy after all. She might just have to keep in contact with him after this mission was over.
Shang: I want to start off by telling you how deeply appreciative of you I am. You've been reviewing like a madman and I just freakin love you. That special place in my heart for you is now free of rent for the next month. But I have to say that Gaara is not the kazekage because this is set only a little after when team 7 graduated. The timeline is something I'm not wholly sure about. I don't know why the graduated later, but it has to do with their team. Team seven had a structure to it, and it's easy to see why they were put together. This team...well I'm just not going to tell you. Sorry for the confusion.
Virgil: sooo, an "Inferno" fan. You've got good style my friend. And I like your email address. Most people I know don't know that's his real name. But I have to tell ya. My timeline was seriously screwed up when I wrote this. I humbly beg for forgiveness. But top thirty? Damn...Considering how you like the next few chapters I just might make it I think. It's a hate it or love it situation. I hope you love it.
It's been fun, I freakin love you guys. I hope you keep reading because I've only barely gotten started. Peace out.