Daydreaming: Owning Naruto.

Reality: Still don't own it.

Temari Takes Over

Temari and Kankuuro sighed as they escorted their brother, Gaara, the Kazekage of Sand, of the village Sangekure, to the hall in which the Wind Country feudal lord would be celebrating his birthday.

And, although he was the Kazekage, whose duties included paying respects to country leaders, Gaara inwardly sighed as well.

In the middle of a huge yawn, Temari froze at the slight head turn and eye twitch of her younger sibling.

Kankuuro glared at Temari.

"Damn it, Temari," he hissed. "At least TRY to pretend you're enjoying yourself. You're giving us a bad image."

"Yeah, yeah. But….. it's not like we REALLY need to be here. Who wants to here a singer when there's a lot of things to do back home?"

Gaara approached the lord, known as Tsukitaka, and, completing the welcoming rituals, sat in his place of honour overlooking a curtained stage.

Temari and Kankuuro flanked him.

If Shikamaru were here, Temai grinned, he'd be saying, "Geez! What a troublesome thing this mission is."

"She got that look again," Kankuuro whispered.

Gaara suppressed a small smile.

"What?" asked Temari.

"Want to bet she was thinking of Shikamaru?" Kankuuro laughed.

Gaara turned to Temari, surprised.

"When did this happen, Temari?" he asked.

"Nothing has happened," Temari gritted out, through a fake smile, suddenly wishing she could blow here siblings away to kingdom come.

Nothing has happened. Unfortunately. She mentally added.

Kankuuro nodded with Gaara at an acknowledgement from some feudal lord of the Earth Country.

"Who is it we're hearing?" asked Kankuuro as he stared at the large red curtains.

"Ummm……." Temari retrieved a pamphlet from her pack. Flattening the wrinkles out, she stared at it for a couple of seconds. "Yukimoto Megami……… famous operatic singer of Asia," she read.

"Operatic?" asked Gaara softly, once again acknowledging another feudal lord of Wind.

"I've never heard of operatic singers," Kankuuro mused.

"It's opera, idiots. People sing a lot and tell a story as they do it."

"Is there fighting in it?" asked Gaara, checking out the security of the hall.

"Not this time around…… but they can last for hours."

"Sounds boring." Kankuuro sighed.

"Well….. Yukimoto Megami won't be singing an entire opera today – just the most famous songs from the most famous operas."

"How long will it last then?" asked Kankuuro.

Gaara looked up at Temari.

"Oh…. Around two hours," the blonde girl shrugged. "Probably an hour and a half."

Kankuuro sagged.

Two hours later, the trio sighed with relief as the curtain finally went down and stayed down. Although Yukimoto Megami was very sexy, the boys lost interest in the show after half an hour. The woman had done nothing but sing.

Half an hour later, Gaara found himself sandwiched between the singer and his most powerful feudal lord.

"So, tell me again – so sorry, dear – but… ah…. Who is this?"

The beautiful, dark-haired woman bent down to look Gaara in the eye.

Gaara just stared at her.

"This is Gaara-sama, the Kazekage of our hidden ninja village."

'This little boy?" asked Megami doubtfully. "He doesn't look very old to me…."

Gaara frowned.

What a dimwit. It's a good thing Naruto taught me to accept people. A eyar ago, I'd have killed this woman by now.

The feudal lord sweatdropped at the sight of Gaara's frown.

"No, no, no…. the Kazekage-sama is the greatest ninja in our country. And Gaara's age has no bearing on this……."

"Hoe? Ninja?"

Megami wrinkled her brow, a smile lit her face.

"I think I've heard of you guys!" She chirped.

Gaara's eyebrows raised several inches.

"You know of a Leaf village?"

Gaara stared.

The feudal lord nodded.

"Of course – a powerful village of ninjas, yes."

"Ahaha! I heard of them from the great actress Fujikaze Yukie – that is to say, Kazahana Koyuki-hime." The singer nodded. "You know them well?"

There is no way a human being can be this stupid.

Gaara sighed.

"Yes, I know that village very well. Great ninja come from that village."

"That's what Yukie told me!"

Gaara nodded and folded his arms, as he cast his mind back to that fateful Chuunin Exam.

He remembered the day he had crossed the border and entered the prosperous Fire Country.

"This is a beautiful country," Kankuuro said, looking over the peaceful rice fields and the orchards.

"Nicer looking than Sangekure, for sure," Temari nodded. "But that'll change."

"Ch…" Their sensei had snorted. "A peaceful country, fat in its serenity. A soft country. And if everything goes right, you'll find it easy to conquer."

Gaara merely chuckled.

"They have no purpose to their life? This will be too easy."

Their sensei had nodded.

That Chuunin Exam had turned his world topsy turvy.

Uchiha Sasuke. The avenger who desired power, survivor of the Uchiha massacre. Ibiki, the weird, tortured examiner. The loud Jounin – what's her name – Anko. Sakur the intelligent pink haired kunoichi. Shikamaru – the lazy bastard who was super smart. Rock Lee, the kid with monster strength – a genius of hard work. His equally scary teacher. Hatake Kakashi – Team 7's leader – a Jounin who was too perceptive. And Uzumaki Naruto. The Genin who had taught him the power of love.

Gaara smiled ever so slightly, thinking of the brash loud blonde.

"Naruto……"

Megami blinked and turned away to another feudal lord.

What an odd kid. Kakashi won't tell me anything though…. All these people are super secretive about their ninjas and techniques. It's like being in an alternate dimension out here – I guess it's what happens when you're stuck in the middle of nowhere with no contact with the rest of the world.

Kankuuro and Temari joining various shinobi and bodyguards leaned against a shadowed wall to watch their kage.

Temari shared a small plate of food with Kankuuro, keeping an eagle eye out for anything suspicious. One tallish, silent man with grey hair and sunglasses leaning on the wall caught Temari's eye. She watched fascinated as woman after woman approached him only to be gently rebuffed.

"Who is he?" asked Kankuuro, following Termari's line of vision.

"Not a lord."

"Or a socialite."

"Not a shinobi."

"At least, I don't see a hitae ate – and his clothes……."

"Most probably with the singer…."

"It's her bodyguard," another shinobi from the Hidden Village of Stone cut in, slightly tipping his head. "From where, nobody knows."
"He's pretty toned," Kankuuro noted.

"But dressed weird," a bodyguard said.

"Hot," Temari sighed.

"Poor Shikamaru…." Sighed Kankuuro, shaking his head. "What he's missing…"

"There's nothing for him to miss," Temari rolled her eyes.

All of the escorts raised their eyebrows as the mystery man shifted a little in order to pull out a small red book with a large 'R' printed on the back.

"Wh-what the hell?" asked Temari, jaw dropping.

Kankuuro smacked his forehead. "I can't believe it!"

"He's reading one of the Icha Icha series!" Another man laughed. "YUkimoto-sama's bodyguard must really be –"

"I think we need to take charge here," Temari frowned. She glided off.

Kankuuro watched fascinated as his sister talked to Gaara for a few minutes. When the Kazekage nodded, Temari smiled and returned to Kankuuro.

"All's set," she said. "Some of us are to escort the woman and her 'bodyguard' to the Earth country's border. That women could get killed with a lazy bastard like him protecting her!"

Kakashi looked up in surprise as Temari and Kankuuro approached him and Megami a week later, as they prepared to leave the country.

"You!" Temari growled, jerking her head. "Get over here!"

"Eh?" Kakashi asked.

Megami followed him.

"You're going to stay with Yukimoto-sama in her vehicle – driving it or whatever. And we'll follow as an escort."

"That really won't be necessary," Kakashi said.

"No, we insist." Temari glared at the grey-haired boy toy with the perennial sunglasses.

"I've already hired a good enough bodyguard," Megami said. "I'm not paying for more."

"That's alright," Temari nodded. "The Kazekage was impressed by your performance, this is a gift of appreciation. To loose such a voice on our lands would be a travesty."

Bullshit, Kakashi thought.

"Your country is in such disorder that it isn't safe?" asked Kakashi, gently needling the blonde Jounin.

Kankuuro coughed.

"Well… we just don't want to be liable for anything. So….."

"Right." Megami picked up her purse and watched her servants tote out all the luggage.

Li was complaining about the lack of girls and good roads.

Raiden was reading a ninja comic.

Kakashi approached them.

"Ready to go? Then… let's go."

Everybody went outside. Ren, Izashi, Gina and Mai disappeared into the dressing room, storage trucks. Kakashi jumped into the driver's seat of the hard top jeep, with Megami in front and the two boys in behind.

Letting the clutch go, the entourage trundled out of the town slowly.