Authoress: okay…I'm already back with chapter seven of Hensou…/glances around/ alright…now…this chapter will be completely devoted to Gaara…unless I have a burst of inspiration in the middle of something…
Gaara: what the hell do you take in the morning?
Authoress: oi, I don't drink caffeine anymore (damn insomnia…and people taking away my beloved instant coffee…who can wait the few minutes for the coffee pot to perk!…not me!)…so I'm currently eating frozen broccoli…and don't give me weird looks…I love broccoli…especially when it's crunchy…so what could be better than ice-encrusted pieces of the oh-so-wonderful vegetable?
Neji:…you're sad, you know that, right?
Authoress: Shuush you!…now, on to the story!
Disclaimer: …do I really need to state this anymore?
Chapter Seven
Gaara glanced down at his beer for the fifth time, wondering when he had finished it. The club had been at its busiest tonight, so Sakura had yet to come around and give him another drink. Taking a moment to think about his day from hell, the Sabaku sighed. First, he had ran into Sasuke's brother, Itachi, while making his usual rounds around the city. The man, needless to say, was less than happy to see Gaara. Their last encounter had ended with Itachi having to go to the hospital for a questionable cut in his penis while the redhead had more than enough bruises and scratches to get Temari into a hysterical fit. This chance meeting wasn't any better. Gaara had glared at the man who had dared to take advantage of his best friend, holding back the comments he had used on the pedophilic, incestuous bastard last time. Sasuke had made Gaara promise he wouldn't get into another fight with Itachi after he found out about their last scuffle.
Of course, upon seeing the smirking Uchiha, all remembrances of his promise to Sasuke flew out of his mind as he whipped out a pocket knife (the same one that he had used against Itachi last time) and was about to attack the man when he realized that Itachi hadn't been alone.
Sitting at the bar right now was proof enough that Gaara had learned how to take care of himself and was quite proficient in that area-when there was only one or two opponents. Too bad he picked the day to attack Itachi when his whole 'Akatsuki' gang were hanging out on his street corner. Gaara had saved himself from certain mortal injuries by sheer luck in the form of his older brother. Kankuro, who was (shockingly) a Pacifist, had started to ignore the whole brawl until he realized that it was Gaara being attacked by thirteen pissed off (and, quite frankly, scary) men. His beliefs of peace didn't apply when his baby brother was concerned.
Within moments, the Akatsuki gang had discovered that Kankuro was equal to them in ruthlessness and, with his brother at his side, Gaara had been able to send three of the creepy members to the hospital with large gashes across their bodies. Kankuro, on the other hand, had thrown a few into unconsciousness and, before the pair could take on Itachi and another creepy gang member, who they recognized as, Akatsuki's leader, what was left of the gang dispersed when they heard police sirens. Kankuro, who was far less injured than Gaara, was forced to carry his brother for at least five blocks-and unceremoniously dropped the redhead on his ass once he was sure they had lost the police.
It was then that Kankuro had broken down and started his 'fighting isn't the answer' speech, as he was slapping Gaara to keep the teen awake. Once Gaara had promised not to get into another fight with the Akatsuki (at least, as long as he was alone and they were all present, but Gaara kept that condition to himself), Kankuro had insisted that his brother go to the hospital-which began a whole new argument.
It always made Gaara smile slightly when he remembered what Kankuro used to be like-before he began caring about his younger siblings. The young man was once known as the infamous 'Puppet Master,' one of the most feared gang leaders way back when Gaara was too young to get himself into this kind of trouble. Once Gaara had hit twelve, however, Kankuro had an 'epiphany' (what Temari and Gaara called his moment of enlightenment) and put down his weapons (mainly wire and sharpened darts) in order to start working a normal job that, while it didn't pay quite as well as his life of crime, he was able to enroll Gaara and Temari into schools in the better part of town. Both siblings, however, were kicked out within weeks of beginning classes. Temari had gotten into too many fights and Gaara frightened the entire school population. Kankuro hadn't been happy with either one of them at the time, but he had forgiven them when Temari started working at a nearby hotel-which left Gaara enough time to start teaching himself what he would have learned in school (Sasuke and Neji had let him borrow their books from time to time). Within a few weeks, his older siblings had realized that Gaara was, in fact, a genius; having learned two new languages and being able to understand advanced mathematics with ease. Seeing this, Kankuro tried putting Gaara back in school, but it had the same effects as his earlier attempts. Out of sheer boredom, since he was too young to work and couldn't go to school like other children his age, Gaara started hanging out with Kankuro's old crowd-and soon rose to the top of them due to his intellect and ruthlessness.
For some reason, Gaara had quickly gotten over the novelty of being a 'bad ass' and started up his studies again, but could never rid himself of that stigma. So, while he wasn't studying or hanging out with the few friends he had, Gaara earned himself a living with drugs. Kankuro knew exactly what Gaara did in his spare time and the pair had agreed it would be for the best if Temari never found out, so the blonde was kept in the dark while Gaara always stashed away his earnings, having already decided on what the majority of his money would go into. When Temari finally fell in love (and Kankuro was still sure that would never happen), Gaara told his brother he would pay for the entire wedding, would buy Temari the house of her dreams, and would spoil Temari's children (if she had any) silly. Kankuro's children would have been spoiled as well, if Gaara hadn't already known his brother was unable to reproduce-thanks to an almost negative sperm count.
Just the idea of children terrified Kankuro, since he obviously imagined little demons (who would, oddly, resemble their Uncle Gaara in disposition) making his life even more hellish than it already was. That, and in all his eighteen years of life, Kankuro had never been attracted to anyone, which was pitiful. Even Temari, for all of her surly nature, had had herself more than one relationship. Gaara always made fun of his brother with the fact that, even though Kankuro was the most pleasant out of all three siblings, he couldn't get any. Maybe it had something to do with the odd Kabuki makeup Kankuro used to cover up the scars he received in his past life of crime.
"Gaara-san, that bottle won't refill itself, no matter how long you glare at it…" a cheery voice stated from behind the teen. He turned around and smirked when he saw 'Kyuubi' standing in front of him with his arms folded across his chest. This was the second reason his life had been hellish today. Every five minutes, his cell phone would go off and he would have to listen to Iruka's screeching voice (or Haku's, on a few occasions) for five minutes before telling them that he had no idea where their precious Kyuubi was.
"Kyuubi…you should know better than to run off with your father worrying…" Gaara completely turned around on his barstool and watched as the hyper teen smirked, which looked positively demonic with that eerie mask of his. Apparently, Kyuubi had already heard someone's long speech that Gaara had to deal with earlier. The last call had been from Haku, as Gaara was wrapping a particularly nasty gash down his forearm, and the redhead had snapped at the worried teen, telling him to go 'fuck off' (in those exact words). With that, Haku huffed and hung up. In a minute, once his arm was completely coated in white material, Gaara called back (due to an arising suspicion he was growing a conscience) and apologized to the small man, saying that he wasn't in the best of moods at that moment. Haku, knowing not to ask Gaara about what he was doing, had accepted the answer and invited Gaara to the club for a drink.
He had already had that drink with the pretty boy and found out from Haku that Kyuubi had finally come home-almost the exact instant Haku had hung up with Gaara (the second time). He also discovered that the sexy blonde had a new interest-in the form of a raven-haired 'god.' It took only a dreamy look in Haku's eyes for Gaara to smirk. He knew exactly who this god was and, when he got the chance to talk to the Uchiha, wouldn't let his best friend live down the fact he was making out with Gaara's ex-boyfriend for a full five minutes (Haku was enough of a pervert to time his brother's passionate moment).
"Heh…sorry about that…but it was your fault for dumping me so flippantly," Kyuubi retorted, his voice filled with mirth. Gaara raised an eyebrow at the blonde's vocabulary. Obviously, Sasuke was finally having some effect on him. "Oi…how do you know Uchiha Sasuke?"
"…he's my best friend, moron…" Gaara replied calmly, his smirk becoming the barest hints of a true smile when he saw his ex sweat drop. Kyuubi moved closer to the redhead and sat down in an unoccupied stool next to Gaara. "I've known him for years…and Inko told me all about your…afternoon…" It felt strange to Gaara to use Haku's alias-Botan'inko, or Inko, as most people called the pretty boy-since he had gotten so used to talking to the teen outside of the club (Haku had told Gaara he preferred to be called by his real name unless they were in the club, at which point, he had asked Gaara not to mention that he and Kyuubi were brothers, or their relationship to two of the other employees, the 'Sensei' pair). In all the months of being Kyuubi's boyfriend, Gaara had never learned his actual name, but, then again, he never asked what it was.
"What! Oo…he's such a gossip whore!" Kyuubi pouted for a moment, which did nothing to make his appearance any less frightening, but Gaara shook his head at the teen's sporadic actions. That had been one thing that he saw as attractive in the blonde-you could never anticipate what he would do, how he would react to something. Gaara had discovered he liked that sense of not knowing, of being surprised constantly.
"Who's a gossip whore?" Neko asked as the pink-haired girl bounced over to the pair, a barely contained smile on her lips. For some reason, she was radiating with happiness-and it made Gaara and Kyuubi uneasy. This woman was the extreme form of spasmodic…and it was very frightening. "What happened to you, Neko-chan?"
"…anou saa…there's a dance at my school in a couple weeks…and it's really formal, kimonos and everything…and someone asked me to go!" She squealed as she picked up Gaara's empty bottle and, with more energy than either male had ever seen in her, she spun around then raced to get him a new beer.
"…Mate! Who asked you! Not that angst-queen you're always talking about like he walks on water!" Kyuubi exclaimed, which got Gaara to raise his (lack of an) eyebrow. The pink-haired teen bounded back to them and smacked Kyuubi upside the head.
"Sasuke-kun isn't an angst-queen! And, for your information, no, he wasn't the one who asked me!" She retorted as she folded her arms across her leather-clad chest. Kyuubi whimpered as he leaned over the bar and poked his friend in the arm, continuing until she sighed and broke out into a grin. "Alright, alright! I'll tell you…" Neko's mask couldn't hide her blush as she began fidgeting, her eyes glancing to Gaara every few seconds. "K-Kankuro-san…"
"…" Gaara merely stared at the girl, unable to comprehend that his brother had asked the crazy bitch to go to a dance at her school. How would he have even known about it! Gaara wondered as his eyes widened in amazement, remembering all the times he had seen Kankuro act slightly strange. Usually it was just small things, like staring off into space for a second, smiling for no good reason, things like that. Temari had confided in Gaara weeks ago that she thought their brother liked someone, but when they confronted Kankuro, he dismissed the suggestion so nonchalantly, they forgot about the idea entirely.
"…you're…dating Gaara's…brother!" Kyuubi, in a gravity defying move, somehow fell over the bar and started hysterically laughing as soon as he hit the floor on the other side. Neko's face flushed as she dug a heel of her stilettos into the his back, but the amused teen continued laughing at the mere thought of the odd man and such a pretty girl being in a relationship.
"Hai, baka, I am!" Neko snapped before grinding her heel into him one more time for good measure before glancing up at Gaara, who was looking away in attempts not to snicker at his brother's choice in a girlfriend. "Do you have anything to add, Gaara-san?"
"Iie…how long?" Gaara asked flatly, hiding his curiosity. He decided that, if his brother had been seeing the pink-haired girl in secret for over a week, there would be no forgiveness-especially after he told this piece of news to Temari.
"…well…not even a day…" Neko replied, her face resembling a tomato as she stepped over Kyuubi to get closer to Gaara. "I mean…he knew about the dance from Sensei…and…he asked me last night…" She squealed and covered her face with her hands, screaming 'kawaii' as she danced around to music other than that which was blasting out of the speaker system. "He was so embarrassed!"
"…" Gaara had never seen Kankuro 'embarrassed' in all fifteen years of his life-not even once had he caught his brother off guard! To think that his anti-relationship sibling was willing to put his pride on the line and stammer out a request for a date was enough to make Gaara chuckle. Kankuro would never live this down…but Gaara would save the ridicule for the perfect moment and wouldn't tell Temari until he was sure Kankuro would either die of his newfound sense of embarrassment or Gaara would find it impossible to lie to his sister anymore. "Congratulations."
"Arigatou, Gaara-san!" Neko looked down at the male underneath her, who still had to get over his bout of laughter. "See, Kyuubi, at least Gaara-san has manners!" That just made the blonde snort even louder as he rolled around on the floor. Gaara sighed as he downed the entire beer in his hand with one gulp, then waved a quick goodbye to the bickering pair.
Gaara was quick to leave the loud club, having already recognized the beginnings of a migraine. He had made sure to say a quick goodbye to Zabuza as he slipped out into the cool night air and took a deep breath. Simple cold air helped his throbbing head, for the moment, as Gaara started walking along the thin strip of sidewalk. He was glad for his high alcohol tolerance as he started kicking a small pebble down the grey concrete, only weaving once or twice as he studied the round piece of rock.
Within a few minutes, Gaara found himself out of the warehouse district and in the more…exotic nightclubs area. He knew how often people got drunk around here-and a drunk person wasn't someone he was in any condition to fight with, with an oncoming migraine and his quick temper. That added to the fact that, even drunk as he was, Gaara could move extremely quickly meant he could, unintentionally, kill someone if he wasn't careful. He had done serious harm to people when he was in this condition before, but, thankfully, the policeman who had escorted him home had been easily seduced by Temari's (false) charms.
Gaara, even with being careful with his movements, accidentally knocked into a tall man's back. The guy, from the weaving of his green-clad body, was even more drunk than Gaara and, upon turning around to look at the tiny redhead that had hit him, Gaara could see the flushed look on his face, which made Gaara, for the second time tonight, raise a non-existent eyebrow. From the man's body, Gaara would have guessed him to be in his mid-twenties, but that face screamed 'juvenile' almost as much as Gaara's own did.
Gaara, due to that annoying thing called a conscience, was about to apologize, but didn't get a single word out before the young man threw a punch, which Gaara had only been able to dodge by a hairsbreadth. His sea-green eyes widened in amazement at the man's movements. Not only were they quick enough to be able to catch him off guard, but they were amazingly accurate for someone so obviously drunk.
Within seconds, Gaara found it increasingly difficult to dodge the man's attacks, having already taken one kick to his already pained abdomen. Even if he hadn't been beaten up by thirteen gang members earlier today, Gaara was certain that he wouldn't have been able to stand on even grounds with the handsome man. Between assails, he had seen enough of the youth's face to blush slightly. Amidst looking at his mystery-filled eyes and noble brow, Gaara found himself hypnotized by the man's charm. So smitten, in fact, that Gaara was unable to see the man's next attack and, before everything went black, Gaara's face erupted in pain and he noticed what delicate hands this god-like person had.
/haha…that was kind of funny…okay…back to the story…/drum roll/ the next morning!\
Gaara moaned softly as he covered his aching head with both hands, cracking open an eye only when he felt the cold piece of cloth on his forehead. He peeked through his spread fingers long enough to recognize his own bedroom. Curious over why he had such a splitting headache, Gaara tried remembering the previous night. He slowly sat up and removed the compress, setting down the washcloth on the rim of a basin on his nightstand, when he realized the prior night was a blur of drinking and something else.
That something else made Gaara's face warm up as he got to his feet and shuffled over to the full-length mirror attached to the back of his door. He stared at his bandaged ribcage for a moment, remembering his fight with Itachi and the other gang members, then looked at his face, his green eyes widening when he saw the large bruise covering one eye and half of his cheek, along with the majority of his forehead. As he gingerly traced the sickeningly purple mark, images of his fight with the drunk man returned and his face erupted in a blush that he had never experienced before.
"Oh, Gaara, you're awake…" Temari said softly as she opened the door, noticing her brother on the other side, his fingers touching the bruise on his face and, oddly enough, a blush on his face. Smiling slightly, she slipped into the room and wrapped her arms around Gaara's thin frame. "If you get into another fight…I don't know what we're going to do with you…"
"…how did I get home?" Gaara wondered aloud as he pulled himself out of Temari's smothering grasp. His sister smirked and gestured for him to sit down. Gaara, wondering about his sister's peculiar demeanor, sat down on the edge of his bed and watched as Temari started tidying up his room-another very un-Temari-ish thing.
"A man I've seen around the club before…and his son brought you home late last night…what was his name? Gai, I think…" she replied, hiding her smile as she picked up the largest pile of clothes and started searching for the rest of her brother's dirty laundry. "He said that you had gotten into a fight with his son…and, as soon as his son was sober enough, he was apologizing to me for hitting you…it was kind of cute, actually…"
Temari said 'cute'! That was the first time Gaara had heard that particular word out of his sister's mouth, especially when it was concerning Gaara. "…cute?"
"Un…the poor kid was blushing and everything. What did you do to him?" Temari asked, glancing over at her little brother who was, surprisingly, blushing. "Oh…so na…that's what you two were doing…but how did you get a black eye?" Gaara thought about her comment for a moment, then flew off his bed as soon as he realized what she had been thinking.
"I didn't do anything…I…hit into him…and we got into a fight," Gaara retorted hastily, his blush increasing tenfold as he watched Temari nod her head and mumble 'right' sarcastically to herself. Gaara puffed out his cheeks as soon as his sister's back was turned to him, but his blush didn't diminish.
"Gaara…what did you think of that boy, then?" Temari wondered, turning back around quickly enough to catch a glimpse of Gaara's pout, which made her smile. He looked away from her and frowned, but the increase in the pink in his cheeks was enough to tell her exactly what she had been guessing. Aww, kawaii! the teen thought to herself as Gaara let out a breath.
"…he was an amazing fighter…" Gaara commented coolly as he took a sneaked glance at his sister and caught her 'and?' expression. "…and…he was…" Gaara, feeling his heartbeat quicken at the mere thought of his black-haired assailant, quickly fell onto his bed and covered his face with a pillow before Temari could see him blush even further. Her brother's childish act was enough to make Temari chuckle to herself.
"Handsome, ne?" Temari had actually been slightly disturbed at the father-son pair. Between their looks and outfits, she was officially crept out, but Gai's 'spring of youth' speech had been what made Kankuro kick the duo out of their house at two in the morning. There was only so much scariness her brother could take, even with his vast patience. She inwardly sighed, finally giving up on her fantasy that both Kankuro and Gaara would turn out gay, they both would get amazingly hot boyfriends and she would get an equally sexy boyfriend. First, she had yet to find a guy who was up to her 'sexy' standards. Second, with a little prodding, she got Kankuro to admit he finally got himself a girlfriend. Third, her baby brother had somehow become infatuated with creepy eyed, and equally eerie-eye browed, teen with a bowl cut and who wore spandex. The whole image of Gaara's current love interest made Temari shudder. But, being the loving sister she was, she sat down on the bed and rested a hand on Gaara's back. "He obviously liked you too, Gaara…" she said softly as she began gently rubbing his back, something that she had done ever since Gaara was a baby and his insomnia had began. Most nights, when Gaara was still little, rubbing his back was the only way to get him to fall asleep, even though it was usually only for an hour or two.
Temari couldn't see it, but she knew Gaara had smiled into his pillow.
/A/N: should I go on?…hell, let's go to Temari's (nonexistent) love life!\
With a sigh, Temari looked up at the sky and noticed how clear it was out. There were only a few white puffs in the sky, which was a good thing. She had always liked watching clouds fly by, amazed with how quickly the wind had been able to move them. Sighing again, her gaze returned to the large building that she was supposed to be at already. It wasn't the first time she was late for work, but, for once, she had an actual reason. The owner, who was very much a family man himself, would understand that Temari was worried about her brother who had been shipped home unconscious at midnight. She glanced back up at the sky as she crossed over the green lawn of the deer preserve. It wasn't exactly her first choice in a job, to tend to a bunch of deer, but the fuzzy animals had grown on her and nowadays, she was kind of excited to get away from Kankuro and Gaara for a few hours.
Temari watched one particularly large cloud race across the sky, only ripping her eyes from the heavens when she tripped over something. With an 'ooph (and a valiant attempt to regain her balance),' Temari found her hips laying across something that was a tad bit warmer than the grass and her hands aching from an impact with the hard ground.
"Mendokusee," a bored-sounding voice commented and Temari found herself staring at a younger version of her boss. Temari, as she stared at the young man, realized that she was laying across the brunette's abdomen which, even through her jacket, she could tell was amazingly muscular. Feeling a slight blush coming on, Temari slid off of the young man, inwardly smiling when she felt his muscles contract underneath her body and saw a tinge of pink come to his cheeks.
"Gomen…Nara-san…I wasn't looking where I was going," Temari said, forcing herself to sound actually sorry, as she slowly stood up, dusting off her bare legs and jacket. She took a glimpse at the young man, sure that he was the owner's son (who the man would never shut up about) when she took in all his features. His ponytail was identical to his father's, as were his eyes and, pretty much, everything about him except his apparent age and the lack of scars on his face.
"…you shouldn't be walking on the grass," he stated calmly as he stood up as well, dusting off the few pieces of grass and dirt from his back and legs as he studied Temari. As the Nara stood up to his full height, Temari found herself staring into his chest, which, in itself wasn't exactly a bad view, but she hated being shorter than everyone else. Looking up so she could see the young man's face, she frowned at his comment.
"I wasn't the one laying in the grass, Nara-san," Temari pointed out, already starting to get annoyed by the man's attitude. He sighed and started to walk away, which got Temari to growl slightly. "Oi, I'm talking to you!"
"Women are so troublesome," he said under his breath as he turned around, but Temari caught his rude comment. She glared at him as she stalked up to him and decided that the sexist needed to be taught a lesson. With a quick movement, Temari heard the satisfying crack as her open palm connected with the young man's unmarred face. Obviously he hadn't been expecting to be smacked, since he hadn't even tried to move and, even after Temari lowered her hand, her eyes widening as she realized she had just hit the owner's son, he didn't move. For a moment, they stood there in stunned silence until the Nara lifted a hand to touch the pink mark on his cheek that resembled a handprint.
"…N-Nara-san…" Temari would have apologized to the young man if it hadn't been for the fact that, as soon as he had touched his stinging face, he had grabbed her wrist and pulled her arm towards him. Temari, momentarily caught off-balance, fell into him and successfully knocked both of them back onto the grass, but this time, Temari found herself straddling the young man's legs and, with all the gracefulness of a newborn deer, Temari flailed as she tried to get off of the Nara, but couldn't move because of his grip on her wrist. "Let go!"
"You're hurt," he said softly as he turned Temari's hand so the blonde could see that her hand was scratched. It had most likely happened when she had landed on them in her previous fall. With a sigh, the Nara sat up and Temari was looking into his a pair of black eyes that, instead of their earlier boredom, held a slight concern. Temari blushed slightly as she studied her hand that was covered in pink contusions along with slowly trickling blood and more than one stone was embedded in her flesh. The quiet man underneath her sighed as he took a hold of her other hand and turned it over to look at the similar marks across her opposite palm. He let go of Temari's hands and she quickly slid off of him. Again, the pair slowly got up and Temari found herself taking quick glances at the young man who, without that bored look on his face, wasn't half bad looking. "You should have that looked at…"
"…a-arigatou…for your concern, Nara-san…but I'll be fine…" Temari stuttered, amazed that the man who, only a minute ago was saying that women were troublesome, was showing concern for the scrapes on her hands.
"My name's Shikamaru, Temari-san," he stated as he started to walk away. Temari found herself smiling slightly at the man's comment concerning his name, then furrowed her eyebrows.
"How did you know my name, Na-…Shikamaru-san?" Temari asked as she turned to watch the young man's retreating back. He turned his head enough to look at Temari and she caught the small pink tinge on his cheeks.
"Mendokusee…" Shikamaru mumbled before he turned his head back to look forwards and continued walking away from the girl. Temari, with a smirk on her face, smirked and took off towards the back of the reservation in order to find Nara Shikaku and, if possible, learn something about his unusual son.
/ aw…Kawaii, ne? alright…since it seems we're going to do the whole family…here goes Kankuro's love story…\
Kankuro glanced around the empty family room of his house, his ears perked up so that he could catch any sound, but he couldn't hear a thing. Smirking, he realized this meant Temari had already left for work and Gaara was either not home or up in his room doing something. Knowing his little brother's nature, Kankuro was aware that nothing short of a scream from Temari or a gunshot would get the teen to come out before he wanted to.
Snickering softly to himself, the eldest sibling snuck into the kitchen and rested his gaze on the white phone. Kankuro tiptoed over to the phone and picked the curved object up, listening for a dial tone as he turned to watch the stairs leading up to the bedrooms. Sometimes Gaara was known to sneak down those stairs so quietly, no one even saw him until he was almost on them. Kankuro didn't want his brother to know anything about this, so he kept a close watch as he dialed a number so familiar, he didn't need to see the buttons on his phone.
His smirk turned into a smile as he heard someone pick up the phone. "Moshi, moshi," the woman's voice said pleasantly. Kankuro took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the phone as he wove a finger through the twisted cord.
"Ohayo, Haruno-san…is Sakura-chan still home?" Kankuro's voice nearly faltered as he heard a creak coming from upstairs. With a sigh of relief, Kankuro watched the furry creature known as Shukaku poke his head out of the upstairs corridor and cock his head when he saw Kankuro. The round badger was smart enough to know that, at this time of day, Kankuro was always at work.
"Yes, she's here…may I ask who this is?" the woman asked, the pleasant tone of her voice leaving with her question. Obviously the woman must have thought Kankuro to be one of Sakura's love interests. The pink-haired teen had told Kankuro more than once that her mother was insanely overprotective of her.
"Oh…this is Sabaku no Kankuro…" Kankuro replied as he studied the brown creature waddle down the stairs and start walking towards him. Kankuro glared at the beast, having never liked Gaara's odd choice in a pet, as the furry thing returned his hate-filled expression. With a cough, Kankuro added, "I'm um…a friend from w-school…" He would have said work-or the actual truth-if he hadn't heard of the woman's legendary abhorrence of 'boyfriends' and Sakura's place of work. The woman thought Sakura just worked in a club, but had never gone there (thankfully). Haruno-san probably would have had a heart attack if she saw all the things her daughter did in her job.
"…oh…Kankuro…Sakura's never mentioned you…" Kankuro could tell, from the quality of the woman's voice, that Sakura must have been in the room and her mother was glaring at her, silently asking Sakura for an answer in the way only mothers could. Kankuro had tried to master that particular look-for Temari and her rebellious nature-but he couldn't keep a straight face long enough to make her feel guilty enough in order to get her to confess. Kankuro gently kicked Shukaku, who had decided his foot was a perfect pillow, and raised an eyebrow as he listened to the harsh whispers coming from the phone. He couldn't make out any of what the woman was saying, but he could distinguish Sakura's voice as well-and the pink haired girl didn't sound too happy.
Kankuro kicked Shukaku again, this time more forcefully (completely unintentionally). The loud crack that had filtered through the phone had caused Kankuro to wince, which made the muscles in his leg tighten…and effectively punt the furry ball across his kitchen. With a squeak, Shukaku went flying into the kitchen wall opposite Kankuro and the teen was chuckling so loudly, he didn't notice that the fight on the other side of the line was over.
"Daijoubu ka, Kankuro?" Sakura sounded slightly worried-probably because she had never heard Kankuro laugh before. He watched the creature slide down the wall and land on the floor with a, in Kankuro's mind, satisfying thump.
"Daijoubu, Sakura-chan…" Kankuro replied as he smiled at the, now, growling badger. He had wanted to do that for years! He snickered again, his eyes following the limping creature before he remembered Sakura was on the phone. "…I…punted my brother's pet badger…little demon had it coming…"
"That's a terrible thing to say!" Sakura exclaimed as Kankuro (knowing women) held the phone an arms length away from himself until her screeching subsided. He sighed and pulled the phone back to his ear, but couldn't help but smile when he saw Shukaku wobbling back up the stairs. "Kankuro…what did your sister say?"
"…that you're going to have to come over…" Kankuro replied coolly as he watched Shukaku disappear back into the upstairs corridor. If the creature had the ability to, he probably would have either killed Kankuro in his sleep or flipped him off at every given moment. There as no love between them, but Kankuro promised Gaara he wouldn't harm his precious Shukaku. For some reason, that creature hung off of his little brother like they were part of the same body-but it hated Kankuro and Temari with a passion. Kankuro never doubted that it was a demon in a past life.
"…I told Gaara-san…he and Kyuubi believed me…" Sakura commented, chuckling evilly. She stopped when Kankuro heard her mother's voice yelling on the other side about a straight jacket and medication. "She's such a bitch…"
"That's a terrible thing to say!" Kankuro parroted her earlier words, which made Sakura grumble. "…so, what did you have planned for tonight?"
"…well, I have off tonight…so I was thinking we could go out…shop for a little while then get dinner. I know this really cool place over on the other side of town. The Akimichi family owns it…and I already told Ino to drag Choji with her so we could double-date…" Sakura stated. Underneath all his makeup, Kankuro blushed furiously. "And, before you try weaseling your way out of this, remember you were the one begging me…"
And her only payment was I'd take her to her school dance…conniving female…Kankuro thought to himself as he sighed. "Fine…what do I have to do?" Kankuro asked, his voice turning into a whisper when he heard Gaara's soft voice float downstairs.
"Did you fall down the steps again, Shukaku?" Apparently, his brother finally discovered the limping badger. Kankuro snickered to himself as he glanced over to the kitchen clock. He was already far past late for work-thankfully he had thought ahead and called his boss, telling the man that he'd be coming in a little late due to the fact his brother was in an accident. With all the 'accidents' Gaara's had, it was a wonder the old man didn't think Gaara was klutz or just plain unlucky.
"Meet me in the front of the mall at four…with no makeup on," Sakura stated, cackling evilly the same moment Kankuro brought a hand up to touch his masked face. "If you do wear makeup, I'll drag you into the girls' room to wash it off…and we'll go wardrobe shopping…"
Kankuro raised his eyebrow. He had been in the girls' bathroom before (it came from having a little sister and being pretty much orphaned by their father when they were just kids), so that was no problem. And wardrobe shopping? How bad could that be? Kankuro smirked, knowing he wouldn't give up wearing his makeup-not without at least making a valiant attempt to keep it on.
/Authoress: okay…okay…Kankuro and Sakura's relationship isn't what it seems (hence the 'begging' part and their deal…so…back to…Temari! This is just one Sabaku family story…)\
"Temari-chan, you can take a break now!" the owner called as Temari pulled her hand away from the furry nose of a deer that especially liked her. The young buck's antlers were already growing back in, so every time he rested his gigantic head on Temari's shoulder, she would have to untangle her hair from the points that, to other people, could be considered lethal weapons.
She patted the deer's nose again, smiling when those brown eyes closed and the massive animal pushed his head back into her hand. For such large, threatening looking creatures, these deer were completely harmless and, quite frankly, very cuddly. "I'll be back later, Rudolph," Temari said softly as she brushed her fingers against the bristly hair, then planted a soft kiss on the deer's nose. Rudolph huffed, as if he understood Temari's statement and didn't believe her. The deer had been named by Temari when he was first born; on Christmas Eve over two years ago. She had picked the name after she had seen that both her and the owner's noses had turned a bright red after hours of sitting in the freezing barn, waiting for Rudolph's mother to have him.
With another pat, Temari stepped away from the twelve foot fence and started walking towards the Nara's house, where she knew the owner's wife would have already made a wonderful lunch and set out a cold glass of water for Temari.
She smiled as she jumped up the steps, skipping every other wooden stair, then slipped into the house's quaint kitchen and found Shikaku mumbling to himself as he looked over a slip of paper. Temari, being the chronically curious type of person, leaned over the man's shoulder to read the letter, but only caught a few characters before the man folded the paper up and sighed. Shikamaru…it said something about him…I wonder what it was. It looked important…maybe it was something from whatever college he goes to, Temari thought to herself as she sat down next to the man and waited for him to say something.
"His teachers are complaining about his grades again…" Shikaku stated as he glanced over at his wife. "And that he's always late to class…he leaves the house on time…how is he always an hour late to school?"
Temari smirked, knowing exactly why the odd man was always late to school. "I saw Nara-san this morning when I got here…he was laying out front…" Heh…maybe this will get you in trouble…sexist, lazy pain in my ass…Temari thought to herself with a smile on her face.
"…he started watching the clouds again…" Shikaku's wife stated with a sigh as she turned around to hit her husband on the head with a spoon. "You said you'd talk to Shikamaru about that…" Temari thought the man would have argued or even glared at his wife for hitting him-but this was Shikaku. He merely sighed and leaned back in his chair as he nodded his head. It had been obvious from the day Temari started working with the Nara couple that the small woman making them lunch was the one who ruled their household. She had whipped Shikaku into submission long before Temari knew the odd pair, but this was the first time she had seen them argue about their son while she was around. Temari only knew what Shikaku told her-that his son was a lazy genius and that he was around Temari's age-seventeen. After seeing the young man this morning, Temari guessed his age to be around nineteen, hence the 'college' thoughts.
"He's only a kid…what do you want me to say?" Shikaku asked as he picked up the letter again and opened it to skim through it a second time. "The only class he's on time for is his study hall…and his drama club…"
"Un…Gai tells me he's very punctual when it comes to the drama club…" the tiny woman stated as she started scooping rice out of the rice cooker and placed it in bowls that she brought over to the table. Temari didn't notice when she put the bowl of rice down in front of her. Her mind was still stuck on the comment about Gai.
"Y-You know Maito Gai?" Temari asked curiously, surprised to see the Nara chuckle. He nodded his head and waved around the letter. His wife snatched the piece of paper away from him and smacked his head.
"He's an old family friend…he coincidentally is the drama club's supervisor and one of the teacher's at Shikamaru's high school…" Shikaku stated as he rubbed the back of his head where his wife had hit him repeatedly this morning.
High…school! He's only in high school! No way! Temari exclaimed inwardly, staring at Shikaku for a moment. The man smiled and a thoughtful expression crossed his scarred face before he looked to his wife. "Thinking about it…his son's graduating this year, isn't he?"
"Un…Lee-kun and a few other kids from the drama club…that one Hyuuga boy is graduating too, I think…" she replied as she sat down across from Temari once she sat a plate of vegetables down in front of her husband and Temari. Temari glanced at the plate, letting these small facts click in her head as she smiled evilly.
Gaara's crush…is graduating with his best friend……and Shikamaru goes to school with Sasuke and Neji, that means…I could ask them to accidentally introduce Gaara and this Lee guy…hehehe…Temari cackled to herself as she watched Shikaku sigh. An odd thought then came to her mind. Maybe I can find out more about Shikamaru…WTF! Why would I want to get to know that asshole! Temari didn't realize it until Shikaku was looking at her curiously, but she was blushing as she glared at her rice bowl as if it offended her.
"D-daijoubu ka, Temari-chan?" Shikaku asked, inwardly afraid for his life as he watched the young woman pout slightly. She glanced up from her lunch when she heard him say her name and blinked, raising her eyebrow.
"…hehe…daijoubu, Nara-san…I was…just…wondering…how old is your son?" Temari said curiously, against her screaming better judgment. Shikaku smiled, as if he knew what had been going through her mind mere moments before and chuckled.
"He'll be turning seventeen in a few months…" he replied cheerfully. His wife took one look at him and smacked him upon principle. The small smile that had come to Temari's face hadn't escaped her perceptive eyes, either.
"Temari-chan…if you're not doing anything tonight…perhaps you would like to come over for dinner…" she suggested, giving her husband a glare that clearly threatened him to say a word. Temari's eyes widened slightly at the invitation and wondered if the Nara couple could see that she was attempting not to smile and bounce enthusiastically-it would have gone against everything Temari was. Seeing that Temari wasn't against the idea, Shikaku's wife smiled. "Good, once your finished putting the deer in, you can come inside and clean up for dinner."
/Authoress:…alright, alright…I'm going back to our Kanky now…this part will be so confusing (that's called a warning for those who get mind-fucks easily…)\
"EEEEE!" Kankuro covered his ears as he watched Sakura bounce up and down, then the ball of pink went flying to attach herself to a small Hyuuga that Kankuro was very familiar with. "Hinata-chan!" Kankuro saw the faint blush on Hinata's cheeks as she was, literally, tackled by Sakura, then the two took a few steps away from Kankuro and started talking in whispers.
"…Oi…I'm not going to stand here all day…" Kankuro stated calmly, but froze when he saw the third member of (what he liked to now call) 'hellish shit' come bounding over. The pink ponytail was a dead giveaway that Kankuro's life, as he knew it, was officially over.
"Ino-pig, you're late!" Sakura screeched as she pulled something out of Ino's hands, giving her best friend a forgiving look as she looked at the large stack of books. "Aha! I found it!" With that, the three girls stood in a circle and started commenting on something they found in one of the thin books. Kankuro sighed and watched as other people walked around the three girls-many of the males who were being dragged by girls gave Kankuro a look of pity as well as understanding. He crossed his eyes as he sighed again, praying that whatever god did exist had finally got its amusement and would spare his life.
"…I'm going home…" Kankuro made the mistake of saying-only realizing what he uttered was a major transgression to the females now staring at him. Ino pouted for a moment, letting her eyes well up with tears before she wrapped herself around Kankuro's arm. He was still wondering how she moved so quickly while the girl nuzzled herself into his bicep.
"Oi, pig, he's my boyfriend!" Sakura commented coldly as she took hold of Kankuro's other arm (which gave Kankuro a new physics-defying move to ponder over) and Hinata walked up to the three and mumbled a hello to Kankuro.
"Hinata-chan…do you know what they're going to do to me?" Hinata shook her head, but Kankuro caught a glimpse of a smile on the shy girl's face. Neji turned her evil! Kankuro surmised as he felt Ino and Sakura start dragging him into the mall while they bickered with each other over how to make Kankuro pay for wearing his makeup. Kankuro tuned out of their conversation, his eyes skimming the shops they were walking past, and didn't pay much attention to where they were going until he saw something that made his heart stop.
"Ino-chan, Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan! You're just in time for your app-…oh, my…who is this?" Kankuro raised his eyebrow as he watched a thin woman emerge from behind a curtain. She had her dark hair pulled back in two matching buns, but was otherwise plain. Kankuro watched the new female smile for a moment, waiting for someone to answer her question.
"…you remember that extra appointment we requested?" Sakura hinted, bumping her elbow into Kankuro's side. Appointment? he wondered as he looked around the immensely bright…and sickeningly pink shop. One thing in particular caught his eyes and Kankuro stared at the chair with round eyes.
"This is the one you were telling me about in school?" the woman asked, looking at Kankuro as if she was undressing him with her eyes. He shivered, waiting for the perfect moment to bolt out of the feminine shop that he now recognized as a beauty parlor. "…so…" Kankuro's eyes landed on the woman who had a hopeful look in her eyes. "…you're a friend of Neji's…"
Unsure of how he should answer the question, Kankuro gulped and nodded his head. Apparently that was the right answer as the girl 'eeped' and Kankuro found himself with a new growth around his middle. Heh…if only Gaara could see me now…three pretty girls hanging on me…Kankuro thought to himself, wondering if he should attempt to free himself from all the attention.
"He knew Neji-sempai and Sasuke-kun when they were little!" Ino added in a high, girly (A/N: gomen, girls…that's not stereotyping…I just don't know what other words to use besides 'let me rip out my own eardrums with a rusty spoon' to describe it…) squeal. Kankuro twitched slightly as that sound echoed in his head for a few moments. He didn't know how he did it, but he had somehow gotten sucked into the lair of the bishounen fan club…and Hinata was there…If this was what hell would be like, Kankuro decided he would become a devout Christian as soon as the three females let go.
"…so…" the girl with the buns let go of Kankuro's midsection and went to look at a book that was sitting on the counter-that also happened to be a flamenco pink. Kankuro cursed his own bad luck when her eyes lit up and she picked up the book, mumbling to herself. "I have all of you down for manicures and pedicures…and a hair appointment…hmm…who wanted their hair cut?" She looked up at the book long enough to see the three girls pointing sneakily at the oblivious man in Kabuki makeup. "Alright…that might take a while…and we're taking the makeup off, right?"
Before Kankuro even got a chance to defend himself, Hinata covered his mouth and nodded her head. Kankuro began getting nervous when Ino let go of his arm to go huddle with the smirking woman and point out something in one of her books. Whatever these girls were going to do to him, it wasn't going to end well.
/and…in an hour's time…we have…/timer goes off/ you have to read to find out…\
"Sakura-chan…are you sure it was okay to trick Kankuro-kun into coming to have TenTen-san do his hair?" Hinata asked shyly as she watched one of the other employees paint her nails the same color as her eyes. Sakura chuckled evilly as she admired the French manicure on her own hands and nodded her head.
"Of course it is, Hinata…remember…Kankuro asked us to help him…and that makeup and hat just scare people. Anyways…TenTen told me that Neji had said something about Kankuro not wearing his makeup once…and that there were instant fan girls. We're doing him a favor!" Sakura theorized, turning to look at the Hyuuga heiress who had begun smiling as she giggled. "Nani?"
"…I've seen Kankuro-kun without his makeup…" Hinata said softly. It was true that she had seen Kankuro without so much as eyeliner on. The first time had been years ago, when Gaara had first become friends with Neji and Sasuke. At one of their sleepovers, Gaara had such a nightmare that Kankuro had to come pick him up at about one in the morning. Hinata had hid on the stairway along with Sasuke to watch a yawning brunette pick up Gaara in his arms and leave the Hyuuga mansion after thanking Hiashi and Neji for inviting Gaara over. It hadn't clicked until the next morning for the two ten year olds, when Neji had said how bad he felt; having to make Kankuro come all the way over to pick up Gaara. It still amazed Hinata at what a transformation it was. The teenager that had carried Gaara out of the house looked nothing like the 'scary man' Hinata and Sasuke knew to be Gaara's big brother. Even though, when they were that young, Hinata knew Kankuro wore that makeup for a reason. Nowadays, she knew that reason was the scars that covered his face. Back then, Kankuro was in a gang and he used the makeup to make himself more fearsome. Now, he used it to hide what kinds of things he used to be into.
It happened other times, too-seeing Kankuro without his beloved makeup. Most often, it was when Hinata found herself seeing Kankuro at odd hours in the morning. She now knew the young man to be a terrible morning person who was insanely devoted to Gaara and Temari. He was willing to hide his face so people wouldn't look at him strangely, and thereby also see his younger siblings as unusual. It wasn't pride or anything else so narcissistic-Kankuro didn't care what people thought of him.
"…is he cute?" Ino asked, pulling Hinata out of her musings. Hinata smiled and bit her lip. She always saw Neji and Sasuke as 'handsome,' Gaara was considered 'adorable.' Kankuro…words really couldn't describe his features, but 'cute' certainly wasn't close. Perhaps 'mysterious' would be better.
"…not really cute…" Hinata replied truthfully, looking up when she heard a gasp come from the back room where TenTen had dragged Kankuro nearly an hour ago. Screams had been what they heard earlier, along with Kankuro cursing, but this gasp was the first of its kind. Ino looked like she was about to go investigate, despite her wet nails, but all three girls froze in their seats when TenTen emerged, her eyes wide and (A/N: imagine animes here…) hearts in her eyes.
"TenTen…are you alright?" Sakura asked softly as the older teen sat down and buried her head into her hands, eeping. The pink-haired girl, worried about her friend, slowly got out of her seat and went over to TenTen and patted the girl on the head. TenTen lifted her head and Sakura could see a blush on her face.
TenTen looked at Hinata and smiled. "Does he have a brother?" Sakura and Ino sweat dropped as Hinata chuckled. She looked to Sakura and Ino, who were hysterically laughing as well. "Nani? Does he have a brother?"
"Hai…you've met him at Masquerade," Sakura stated as she went to sit back down in her chair. "Does the name 'Gaara' ring any bells?" TenTen's eyes widened as an image of a surly redhead came to mind and she nodded. They do bear a resemblance…TenTen thought to herself as she smiled. Gaara wasn't as old as Kankuro, but he was still pretty damn hot.
"I'm going to have to talk to this Gaara…" TenTen said seductively as she smirked. No man had yet to turn away from her charms. That fact made TenTen giggle evilly as she covered her mouth with a hand.
"Oi, don't get your hopes up…my brother's gay!" Kankuro's voice stated from the other room where he could hear the girls-and pretty much see their evil, conniving expressions. He looked into the mirror TenTen had left him with and shivered. He wasn't going to come out of this room until everyone was gone and it was pitch black outside. Not only had TenTen searched him for his makeup (a major violation of personal space!), but she had also taken away his black beanie. I loved that hat…Kankuro thought to himself as he touched his exposed hair. It reminded him of a helmet and, considering all the gel TenTen had put in it, Kankuro was sure he could use it for just that.
"…why are all the good ones gay?" TenTen asked sorrowfully as she sniffled and then flashed a devious smile at Sakura and Ino. Hinata started feeling worried. That smile could mean many things. "Oi, Kankuro-kun…come on out and show the girls what we did!"
"I'm not coming out!" Kankuro retorted, leaning back in his chair and tightened his grip on the armrests. Even under penalty of death, he wouldn't let them see him so…naked. "Give me back my makeup and hat, woman!"
"Come on, Kankuro-kun…" Hinata cheered softly, loud enough to get Kankuro to smirk. The girl wasn't exactly his choice for a cheering squad-but he had heard from Gaara that she could yell when she felt like it.
"Yeah, we're all girls here!" Sakura added optimistically as she looked to TenTen. She knew TenTen wouldn't have done anything to make Kankuro look worse, which meant the young man was just embarrassed to show himself off. He's so modest…she thought to herself as she inwardly smiled.
"So!" What does all of them being girls have to do with it! Hinata will still tell Neji, who will definitely tell Gaara and Sasuke…they'll tell Temari…and I'll never have a moment of peace again…even that little bastard, Shukaku, will be laughing at me! Kankuro hypothesized as he brought a hand up to touch his unusually smooth face.
"I'll tell Gaara-san about our deal if you don't come out, Kankuro!" Sakura's threat made Kankuro twitch as he slowly got up. Listening to his brother make fun of him for that would be worse than anything he heard from Neji.
"I'm coming…" Kankuro growled as he stepped out of the room and took a deep breath before he faced the females, whose numbers seemed to have multiplied since he was last in this room. Kankuro tried to block out the gasps and other sounds coming from his audience as he spotted a seat next to Hinata and quickly sat down and covered his face with his hands.
"…why'd you get to be his girlfriend!" Ino exclaimed jealously, as soon as she was able to speak again, as she pointed a finger at Sakura, who was still dumbfounded. Sakura, finally snapping out of her shocked state, looked at Kankuro, who looked like he was trying to curl into a ball, then drown himself in a nearby sink.
"…" Sakura studied the brown hair and what small pieces of Kankuro's face she could see, then threw a fist into the air. "Yosh! Mission 'Make Kankuro Hot' is complete!"
"Spaz…" Ino rolled her eyes as Hinata tried to get Kankuro to stop his hiding, but only succeeded in getting a 'betrayer' glare from Kankuro before he buried his face even deeper into his large hands. "…oi…what time were we supposed to go pick up Choji?"
Sakura looked up at the large clock towards the front of the beauty parlor and her eyes widened. They told Choji they'd meet him in front of his family's restaurant at five, after they were finished with their mall browsing. Of course, the teen knew this meant five thirty would be the time they'd arrive if they were watching the time. Alas, it had already passed six and the poor boy wasn't used to waiting so long for a meal. Ino, knowing Choji as well as she did, realized that the young man had to have come to the mall to find them.
Kankuro's eye twitched at Ino's question. How could they expect him to go anywhere looking like this? He slowly stood up and, making sure not to make too much of a scene, stomped out of the tiny hellhole, flipping off Sakura when she cried, "Where are you going!"
/A/N: aw, now that wasn't nice, Kanky…well, back to his wonderful day in hell as we know it…(you haven't got to the mind-fuck yet, don't worry…those were just small hints of what's to come…\
(Choji's POV…ooo…a new POV! We should celebrate…maybe later…)
Maa…where could Ino-chan and Sakura-chan have gone? I thought to myself as I began munching on the bag of soy chips my mother had given me when I said I'd go get the girls. Her and her damn diets. It wasn't fair! I was big-boned, not overweight! All the more to love! I added inwardly as I chuckled, popping another of the chips in my mouth. The barbeque ones weren't actually too bad, except for the fact they were pieces of soy. Why don't they just feed me miso through an IV! I grumbled to myself. I always got grouchy when I was hungry-especially after my mother commented on my eating habits. She was no stick, either, and neither was my father, so my size was hereditary!
I continued telling myself that I didn't have an eating problem until I hit into something very warm and very hard. I found myself staring at a tan chin with a wide pale mark in the center, with my body flush against the chin's owner. I raised my eyes as I took a step back and found myself looking into a pair of black eyes. I took in the man's facial features (I knew him to be male since I had, pretty much, felt up his chest a mere second ago), finding that he looked somewhat familiar. That wasn't possible, though. I remembered everyone I met, especially someone as exotic looking as him.
He had thin eyes with black pupils that, if they weren't opened wide in amazement, they probably could have been considered evil-looking. He also had lightly tanned skin along with scars-many scars. They were shockingly white against his tan skin, which only made him stand out even more. The marks were mostly symmetrical, one on either temple that ran diagonally down to his cheekbones, ones along his jaw line that made an almost triangular shape, and there were ones running down his glabella (A/N: that space between your eyebrows (if you have a space, that is…/smiles innocently/)) and to the middle of his pointed nose. He had full lips that were darker than I was used to seeing on men (A/N: have you tried getting some of that crap (lipstick) off…it is like superglue/cries/) and thin eyebrows that were nearly covered by the short bangs that had fallen out of his loose ponytail. His hair was a darker brown than mine, but held highlights of gold and a deep red that seemed natural (A/N: (okay, this is the last of my comments, here…/takes a deep breath/ don'cha love having your hair highlighted…well, actually dyed in my case…but…well…I'm going to shut up now…). Put all that together, along with the supple body I felt under his baggy black clothes, and I found myself staring at, by far, one of the most handsome men I had ever seen.
Upon realizing my attraction to the man, I looked down before he noticed the blush covering my spiraled cheeks. "Gomen…I didn't see you, sir…" I apologized, hoping I sounded more polite and less awed to him than I did to myself. I glanced up long enough to see the man's scarred cheeks turn a subtle pink.
"…Iie…I wasn't looking where I was going…" he replied softly. Even his voice was sexy! I tried to ignore that particular thought as I smiled at the man. He didn't even look at me strangely (like everyone else seemed to). If only he was at least around my age, he'd be perfect! I thought about the way he looked at me without disgust or pity and knew that he must have known how people would look at the scars covering his face. He had a great deal of courage to walk around so proudly.
"Choji!" I saw the man winced as Ino's voice hit our ears. I also twitched slightly-sometimes I wished I could be more like Shikamaru and flip her off, telling her she was too troublesome. But, if I did that today, I wouldn't have hit into the handsome man in front of me.
"Kankuro, you get your ass back here!" I raised an eyebrow as the man flinched again as I heard Sakura's outburst. Tonight would be interesting, considering both females were in the yelling mood. I thought Sakura was bringing along some guy for dinner… I thought to myself, but froze as I watched the pink-haired girl bound up to us and attack the man in front of me. …it's a small world…I decided as I watched this 'Kankuro' struggle to push Sakura away.
"Konnichi wa, Choji-kun." I turned to only be surprised to see Hinata smiling at me. Were they having some kind of crazy girl convention? I wondered as I smiled politely at the Hyuuga. She wasn't half as bad as Ino and Sakura…but Hinata had her moments where I was sure Neji would go jump off the school's roof if it would get her to stop her emotional mood swings for a moment. Today had, probably, been the worst of them, considering Hinata had gone as far as to smack Neji as he tried to calm her down.
"Hinata-chan…are you coming to dinner too?" I asked before I started munching on my soy chips again. This man had been the first person to ever make me stop eating while I still had food in my hands. But didn't Sakura say she was brining her boyfriend? If that was the case, I knew it was just ill luck that we had hit into each other in the first place.
"Iie…I-I didn't want to go home yet…" Hinata said softly, her eyes starting to water. Aha! So she at least feels sorry for hitting Neji-sempai! I always knew the girl was one of the kindest people I had ever met. I was never wrong with my first impressions. "But…my parents will be getting worried soon…"
"I'll take you home, Hinata," the man stated as he (finally) was able to rip Sakura off his waist and push her a few feet away. Sakura whimpered, as did Ino, so I guessed he must have been the 'boyfriend.' It was always Sakura's taste to date the hot guys who other guys liked-but I had always thought she'd only settle for Sasuke (at least, for this school year). Come to think of it…this guy doesn't go to our school…he's too old to even be in high school…I thought with a frown. Statutory rape obviously means nothing to him…I wasn't one to talk, though. Most of my friends worked at a club where anything goes and age meant nothing. If my parents were such pains, I'd probably be working there too…I thought to myself as I watched the man gently pull Hinata by the elbow towards the entrance. His grip on her showed that he was well-acquainted with her, but not in any sexual way. I got more of a brotherly vibe off of him.
"Aw, Sakura…what about the pla-" I turned my head back just in time to see Sakura clamp a hand over Ino's mouth and glare at her best friend with promise of death in her eyes. Pla?…they're doing something sneaky…I decided as I, also, started to walk out of the mall.
"Choji! Mate!" Ino cried as the two girls bounded towards me, large bags flapping at their sides. I saw one being from an 'Intimates' store and I instantly didn't want to know what their new plan was. Probably seduce that Kankuro guy to stay in one place more than a minute…I chuckled to myself and glared at Ino as she wrapped her arm around my elbow.
"You're being clingy today…" I commented as I desperately tried to wriggle my arm out of her grasp, but couldn't. Ino giggled, but only tightened her death-grip on me. Sighing in defeat, I started taking out my frustration on my bag of chips.
What are those two doing with that guy, I wonder… I asked myself as Sakura grabbed my other elbow. People around us probably thought I was either very lucky or very suave in order to escort two pretty girls around. With a snort, I couldn't help but inwardly comment on that. Yep…the gay guy's getting some action from bi girlfriends…
Life would have been so much easier if I had never met Ino and Shikamaru. Mendokusee…I added with a smile on my face.
/…should I continue…hmmmm….nah…I'll let everyone stew over that for a while…j-joto mate!…we didn't talk about Temari enough…/smiles sheepishly/ gomen…I'll go back to writing now…\
(back to third person POV and we're at the Nara household…/drum roll/ at dinnertime!)
Shikamaru looked up at the clouds with a sigh. For some reason, they weren't soothing him as much as they used to. At one time, all he had to do was look up and he'd be calm enough to fall asleep just about anywhere at anytime of the day. These days, though, he had begun developing a problem with sleeping. He would get up every few nights shivering from dreams that, when he told his father about them, the old man got a bloody nose. That, in itself, made the Nara teen reconsider asking Choji for his advise. The Akimichi would get no end of pleasure if he knew Shikamaru was turning into a sleep-pervert (A/N:…I know I said I wouldn't make any more comments…but…/smiles/ a sleep-pervert…kinda like a sleep-walker, ne? They can't help it!).
The only other people, that were around his age, that Shikamaru was actually close to were the members of the drama club and, quite frankly, those people were even more perverted than him at times. He had tried, once, to talk to his homeroom teacher, Asuma-sensei, about it, but only got as far as halfway to the man's desk before loosing his nerve and went flying (or, in other words, moving as fast as the Nara had ever gone) back to his chair. Thankfully, Asuma didn't notice anything or else the man would have probably asked if Shikamaru wanted something.
Want something…besides an intervention? Shikamaru wondered to himself and sighed. He leaned his head back far enough that he could see the top story of his family's house and, if he wasn't on the ground already, he probably would have fallen over. Unable to rip his eyes away from the (upside-down) image, Shikamaru coughed and stared in wonder.
He had heard his mother when she told him they'd be having a guest for dinner, but he didn't know it'd be her. With an expression far from his usual bored one, Shikamaru watched their family's guest slowly get dressed, as if she knew Shikamaru couldn't help but watch, so she put on a show for him. He was close enough to the house to see that her (bare) upper body was glistening with moisture. Raising an eyebrow at the discovery she took a shower in their house (probably in Shikamaru's personal bathroom since it was the only one on that floor), Shikamaru sighed. He knew that his gentlemanly behaviors would get the better of him one day. And today, that had already happened once…it just wasn't his day.
"Oi, pull down the shades!" Shikamaru called, smirking to himself when he saw the blonde woman turn around to look out the window and waved when he was sure she was looking in his direction. She probably couldn't see his whole body because it was already dark out, but she caught sight of his moving hand and Shikamaru could see the glare she gave his general area. "Try a meter to your left…" Her gaze shifted according to his 'helpful' suggestion and he smiled. She was so miffed, she had yet to realize she was giving him a full frontal view.
"Hentai!" she screamed when awareness dawned on her and she crossed her arms over her chest. Shikamaru was about to tell her it wasn't helping, but his mind went blank when he saw the half-naked woman blush before removing her arms completely from her massive chest. She leaned out the open window and smirked, knowing exactly whose voice she had heard and, even though she couldn't see the perverted Nara genius, she knew he was still watching her. If it hadn't been for the fact Temari wasn't exactly a shy person, she was sure she'd be trying her hardest to cover up her body. The only reason she had screamed before was that she didn't know anyone was watching her. But…since it's him…Temari thought to herself while smiling evilly. "Oi, Shikamaru-san…once your finished jerking off, would you mind coming inside. I'm kinda hungry…"
Temari knew that both the teen's parents had to have heard her outburst and, her suspicion was confirmed when a shrill "SHIKAMARU!" erupted from somewhere downstairs. The Nara stared at Temari in amazement. The girl didn't look like she had that loud of a voice. Then again, she had been audacious enough to smack him that morning for a well known fact.
"Mendokusee…" he said with a sigh as he pulled his eyes away from the smirking blonde and her well-developed body that was leaning out the window seductively. He slowly sat up and glared out into the darkness. His mother wasn't going to let him hear the end of this one.
/we'll skip the dinner…it's just an awkward silence anyways…how can you make a comeback after that?\
"Shikamaru…" said teen looked up to find his mother jingling his car keys in front of his face. For a moment, Shikamaru watched the plastic cloud key chain swing back and forth before he sighed and pulled them away from her. Dinner had been troublesome. Smalltalk had been even more troublesome. Cleaning up after dinner was troublesome. Shikamaru decided, as he felt the familiar weight of his keys in his hand, that today was just a troublesome day. He should have just stayed in bed that morning.
He slowly got up from the middle of his bedroom floor-where he had camped out as soon as his mother's supervision of him had faltered and he took that chance to slip out of the kitchen and back to his room, where he turned up his Mozart CD so that he wouldn't have to hear the woman scream when she realized he left her and Temari alone to do…whatever it was that people did after dinner. His father had left before they even had dinner, saying he was going to hang out with some old friends. In other words, the old man was going to go get himself drunk while talking to Ino and Choji's fathers about the 'good old days' (before they had demons for wives).
Somehow, his mother had gotten into his room and started making him feel guilty by saying how 'poor Temari-chan is going to have to walk home in the dark with all those perverts out…' then began shaking Shikamaru's car keys in his face. When it came to his mother, Shikamaru was just as helpless as his father. He shrugged and walked past his beaming mother, who gave him a peck on the cheek before pushing him out of his own room.
As Shikamaru lazily walked down the stairs, he looked up at the ceiling and wondered how he had gotten himself to agree to drive the (new) bane of his existence home. Said bane was sitting on a couch with her back to Shikamaru. The teen sighed a 'mendokusee' as he walked into the family room and noticed that Temari's body was hunched over and, if he didn't know any better, he'd guess she was plotting his demise. Having already done so, Temari should have been bounding around for joy-in Shikamaru's opinion.
"I'll drive you home…" Shikamaru said as he walked closer to the girl and was amazed to see her eyes were closed and she was breathing slowly. Asleep? It's only eight o'clock…Shikamaru thought to himself as he watched the girl doze peacefully with a hint of a smile on her face. Sighing, Shikamaru placed a hand on Temari's shoulder and, in an instant, found himself staring up at the ceiling with a large amount of pressure on his chest.
"…Oh…it's you…" Temari said with a chuckle as she lifted her foot off of the pinned teen's chest and grabbed his arm to help him up. She wasn't used to be woken up by anyone except Kankuro, who knew by now to throw something at her if he wanted to save himself from serious damage. The Nara rubbed his aching head and back as he stared at the girl who had just flipped him without so much as a warning.
"Mendokusee…"
"Do you say anything else?" Temari asked as she stepped away from Shikamaru and noticed that he was holding car keys. She smiled faintly when she remembered that his voice had been what had woken her up. "…arigatou…for driving me home…"
Shikamaru pressed his hand against his, now, aching back and shoulder. It felt like Temari had ripped his entire arm out of its socket, but he knew nothing was dislocated and he should feel lucky that the girl hadn't done anymore injury to him.
Taking a deep breath, Shikamaru studied Temari. He had, literally, seen what kind of muscles Temari hid under her clothes, and he hadn't even thought she would be able to best him. She didn't look much like a fighter, but he learned over dinner that she had two brothers, her being the middle child-which might explain her quick reflexes. Unintentionally, Shikamaru found himself studying her figure closer up and was able to see that the clothing his mother had leant to Temari wasn't showing off any of her better features. He much preferred her miniskirt and tight top over a fishnet shirt. She had beautiful legs and an hourglass figure that people like Ino would die to have. She also had beautiful, shapely breasts.
"…If you keep undressing me with your eyes, I'm going to smack you again," Temari stated as she raised an eyebrow. She smiled slightly when she saw Shikamaru quickly look away, a blush on his cheeks. Heheh…all men are perverts, she decided as she started walking towards the front door. "Come on, Nara! I'm going to fall asleep again if you don't take me home!"
Shikamaru quickly followed the girl, keeping his eyes to the floor as he walked to his car and got in. He started up his car and, being the piece of crap it was (but it was his piece of crap), it needed a silent plead and a few turns of the key before the engine kicked in and the tiny vehicle roared to life. He started backing out of his parents' dirt driveway when he realized he didn't know where Temari lived.
"I'll give you directions," Temari said when she saw Shikamaru raise an eyebrow. He let the faintest hints of a smile cross his face as he continued backing up and pulled the car out into the dark streets. Within minutes, Shikamaru found himself driving under streetlights and Temari was looking out the window, watching for what road Shikamaru would have to take. She had never driven to the Nara's house before, due to her lack of license as well as car. "I think you take this road coming up on your right," Temari commented as she glanced over at the Nara.
"You think?" Shikamaru repeated curiously. How could someone who's been working with my father for two years not know how to get back home? He wondered to himself as he slowed down the car and made the turn down a road he had never been on before.
"I've always walked to work…and back home, unless one of my brothers picks me up," Temari replied, knowing what Shikamaru had wanted to ask. He raised an eyebrow as he looked down at his car's pedometer. We've already gone nearly four miles…she walks to and from work?…she must have amazing legs…the perverted side of the Nara's mind added as he glanced at her clothed legs. Only his mother would have such baggy pants that, somehow, still fit around the blonde's thin waist. "…pervert…" Temari added when she saw Shikamaru look at her legs. "I jog most of the way, if you must know. And it's about ten miles, either way…"
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at that. He could run if he had to, which wasn't very often, but he knew he could never run twenty miles a day-ten miles, perhaps, if his mother forced him to do it, but he would most definitely have to stop every few miles to take a break. "So, Shikamaru-kun…what exactly did you see before?" Temari asked, remembering that he had been watching her get dressed.
"N-nothing…" Shikamaru retorted, turning his face so Temari wouldn't see the apparent blush that had come to his cheeks due to her question. Temari clicked her tongue against her teeth disapprovingly as she watched Shikamaru take a sidelong glance at her.
"Left here," Temari stated and felt the slow down again to turn. Unlike her brothers, Shikamaru didn't speed up when he made a turn, which, in Gaara and Kankuro's cases resulted in squealing tires and an argument about their terrible driving. "Well, you obviously saw my chest…anything else?" Temari asked curiously, smirking when she saw the noticeable red across Shikamaru's cheeks. Kawaii…at least the pervert's a little embarrassed for peeping…Temari thought to herself with a chuckle. Her own brothers had seen her naked more than once-it happens in such a crowded house-and both had ignored it, letting their eyes twitch in silence as they turned around and left the room.
"…nothing…" Shikamaru replied quietly, wishing the dry feeling in his mouth would leave. This was worse than his mother's interrogations-and those were legendary! While Shikamaru coughed nervously in attempts to relieve the scratchy feeling in his mouth, Temari sat back in her seat and smiled evilly. She knew from his parents how emotionless Shikamaru could be-always saying emotions were too troublesome-and that it took a lot to get a reaction out of the lazy teen. That meant there was something he was really getting worked up over.
"So, this morning…how did you know my name?" Temari said as she turned her head to watch Shikamaru start biting his inner cheek. Aha…so, I've got myself a high school stalker then? Temari thought to herself with an inward, evil, snicker. "So, Shikamaru-kun, dreamt about me lately?" That certainly got a reaction out of the Nara. He sputtered, blushed, and the car came to a screeching halt all at once. "Bingo…" Temari whispered to herself with a chuckle.
…she's even scarier than my mother…Shikamaru decided as he turned to look at Temari. She was giggling to herself, oblivious of the fact Shikamaru was about to die from shame-actually, she was probably loving that Shikamaru was in such a predicament. She was an evil bitch like that (according to Shikamaru).
"Well, here's my house…thanks for the ride and…entertainment, Nara," Temari stated as she slowly got out of the car and started walking towards the, surprisingly, lit house. Usually no one was home at this time of night, since both her brothers were more of the nightlife crowd and, even if they were home at this hour, they wouldn't have bothered with the lights. Which means…we have visitors…Temari guessed as she walked up to the door and was about to open it when she realized she left all her things in Shikamaru's car.
The Nara stared at his steering wheel for a moment, trying to get his warm face under controlHe turned and saw a bag of clothing sitting in the passenger seat. He sighed and slid out of the car, taking the bag with him. He met Temari about halfway to her doorstep and silently handed her the bag, keeping his eyes to the ground. With a sigh, Shikamaru turned around to leave, but froze when he felt something warm brush against his cheek.
Temari pulled away from Shikamaru, unable to stop herself from smiling when she saw amazement on his face. She had acted on instinct when she kissed him on the cheek, but found herself drawn back to him-this time her kiss was redirected to his slightly opened mouth. Temari nearly drew back when she felt a tingle race through her body as she graced her lips against Shikamaru's. Instead of pulling away, Temari put more pressure into the kiss, closing whatever space was between her and the Nara by wrapping her arms around his neck and pulled herself flush against his body.
Without even thinking about it, Shikamaru wrapped one arm around Temari's thin waist as he cupped her jaw with his other. Shikamaru knew, theoretically, what a kiss was, but no textbook (or romance novel) could prepare him for the surge of warmth-of pleasure-that coursed through every fiber of his being. This tingling was nothing like any other sensation the teen had felt before. It was so powerful, it knocked the breath out of him as he felt Temari slowly move her lips against his. She did it so tantalizingly slow, Shikamaru could feel every movement she made. From the way the muscles in her neck shifted to the increasing speed of the hammering in her chest, even the way she played with a few stray hairs at the nape of his neck.
Temari wrapped her arms even tighter around Shikamaru's neck as she pulled herself up to his height, smiling into their kiss when she felt his arm easily lift her up so that she was no longer touching the ground. Temari had kissed many different men, but none had ever made her feel like this-especially not from such an innocent kiss. Temari pulled her head away from Shikamaru, for the first time in her life, not letting her hormones get the better of her and, as a result, take a relationship too fast.
Shikamaru, feeling only cold where Temari's lips just were, looked into the young woman's eyes and could tell that she was just as speechless as he was. He couldn't help but smirk and, when Temari saw his perverted smile, she slapped the back of his head as she smiled at him. As Shikamaru put her back down on the ground, Temari nuzzled her head into his warm neck, making sure to trace her lips along Shikamaru's collar bone, where her instincts told her he was sensitive. Her instincts were right, from the soft gasp she got as payment for her gentle caress.
Shikamaru never knew someone could make him shiver with such a simple action and, if he hadn't been wondering if this was why he always saw people making out every second they got, he probably would have tried to retaliate or blush. Temari snickered as she stepped back from Shikamaru and brushed her lips against his nose, which was silently begging to be kissed as he stared at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Oyasumi, Nara…" Temari whispered softly, inwardly saddened when she felt his arm slide off her waist. She leaned into Shikamaru's other hand as he brushed his thumb against her cheek and couldn't stop herself from smiling. He was probably one of the most gentle men she'd ever met.
"…My name's Shikamaru," he retorted softly as he let his hand drop to Temari's slim neck and started tracing the tendons and veins there. Temari sighed softly as Shikamaru hit a particularly responsive area. Temari nodded her head at his comment, remembering he had said the same exact thing that morning-but it didn't have the same effect on her then.
"Alright, oyasumi…Shikamaru-kun," Temari replied before reluctantly pulling away from his warm touch. She turned around to leave and walked back to her house with a bounce in her step that she had never known before.
"Good night, Temari-chan." Shikamaru, if it wasn't so against his character, he would have considered himself giddy-and probably dance. He watched Temari until she was safe in her house and she closed the door behind herself after waving at him. With a smile hidden by the darkness of night, Shikamaru went home sure that his dreams would be much different tonight.
/Authoress: okay, one more little segment, I swear!\
Kankuro glared at his mirror one more time, only to see the same things as before. He had no makeup…he had his hair gelled, dyed, and cut…and he had one terrible day. Not only had a bunch of girls connived him into going into a beauty parlor (where his problems only began), but he had run into the one person he was dreading to see in this state, and, once he had finally gotten home, he found Neji and Gaara drunk enough that the pair giggled at his hair as they tried to get up from the couch, only to fall onto the coffee table, thus breaking the marble piece of furniture.
After slapping his brother into something resembling somber, Gaara told him that Shukaku was at the vet's office after the teen found his beloved pet had broken ribs and Neji was there, singing with his bottle of vodka, because he and Hinata had gotten into a big fight in school over, what Neji said was, absolutely nothing. The pair passed out before Kankuro could get more answers out of them, but half an hour ago, Sasuke had shown up with his own bottle in hand.
He looked up, hearing a screech of tires, then voices. Obviously the two drunk idiots, who had been joined by the third musketeer of their band, woke up and had begun talking rather loudly. All he caught was 'Temari' and 'sexy.' He raised an eyebrow, recognizing his baby brother's voice as the one who said sexy. Gaara was much more intoxicated. He sighed, remembering that Temari had called earlier in the day, leaving a message on their answering machine, saying that she was going to be staying at her boss's house for dinner and not to worry if she came home late.
Hearing his drunk guests say her name, Kankuro wondered if she had come home already. He slid out of his bed and looked out his window, which happened to look right down into the road. He nearly felt like his day wasn't a complete waste when he saw his little sister in the arms of some guy. For some reason, they weren't kissing like Temari's usual boy toys were-they were just being gentle and sickeningly cute. Wondering if this was her last boyfriend, someone that went by the name of Bob (A/N: you know any random Japanese names off the top of your head!…well…maybe this Bob was an American who Temari decided to fuck…I dunno…), Kankuro waited until he could see the man's face, his eyes widening in surprise when he saw that, not only was this new guy not Bob, but that he was a kid. Well, not a kid, but a teenager somewhere around Gaara's age. In all of her relationships, Temari had always gone for men at least twenty, so the fact this guy was younger than his sister came as a surprise.
He couldn't hear them well, but he did pick up an unfamiliar name. Shikamaru…so this guy's her new toy…hmm…he looks like a pansy…he'll probably last a week…Kankuro bet to himself as he smirked and walked out of his room and, by the time he reached the middle of the stairs, Temari had walked into the door with a beaming grin on her face. She had caught a glimpse of the three cackling teens, then saw Kankuro on the steps, and raised an eyebrow.
"Do I want to know?" she asked, studying her one brother's new look, then to her other brother and his drunk friends. I leave them alone for a few hours…and they get smashed without me…she thought to herself with a sigh.
"Shukaku's dying!" Gaara cried as he waved a bottle at Temari, accidentally hitting Neji in the head with it. The, now, glaring Hyuuga took the bottle from him and took a swig of the amber liquid.
"My girlfriend broke up with meee!"
"Orochimaru tried to rape my girlfriend," Sasuke mumbled, slurring his words as he stole the peace-bottle from his childhood friend and downed the rest of the substance in one gulp. Kankuro and Temari both looked at Sasuke oddly for a moment. Sasuke had said nothing about why he was there or what had happened in his shitty day.
"And what about you, sexy?" Temari asked as she snatched the bottle away from Sasuke before it slipped from his grasp. The Uchiha whimpered as he looked at his empty hands, then to his two friends. Gaara sniffled and Neji pouted. Temari shook her head. Those three were definitely made for each other.
"…girlfriend forced me…" Kankuro snorted as he jumped down the last few steps and walked up to Temari, who fingered his hair curiously. His eye twitched for a moment as she snickered.
"If you weren't my brother, I'd hit on you," Temari stated coolly as she handed her older brother the glass bottle. "When did Sasuke get a girlfriend?…or visit his father?" Kankuro shrugged his shoulders. Quite frankly, he couldn't envision Sasuke with anyone-let alone letting her meet his creepy-ass father.
"…maa…Sasuke and his girlfriend were making out in the middle of the corridor last night!" Neji's garbled words made Temari look at the Uchiha who was smiling proudly, which got Gaara to chuckle.
"Un…and they were making out today…after getting back from Orochimaru's…h-hic brother told me about it…" Gaara snorted, ignoring the fact he had hiccupped in the middle of his statement as he began waving his finger at Sasuke. The raven-haired teen tried to bite his friend's finger, but snapped his teeth at thin air nearly a foot to Gaara's left. Neji snickered at Sasuke's bad aim, trying to hit his friend's forehead, but somehow smacked Gaara's waving finger and the trio smirked at each other.
"…what about Neji…I thought he and Hinata-chan were-" Temari froze in mid-sentence when Neji let out a sob. The teen wasn't usually the loudest of the bunch when drunk-and usually wasn't the depressed one either. Sasuke was always the depressed, while Gaara (surprisingly) was the noisiest.
"…I didn't do anything! She just hit me and called me a selfish…a selfish bastard!" Neji wailed, clinging to Gaara's shirt as Sasuke laughed at his friend's apparent misery. Temari's brother, on the other hand, patted Neji on the head and made hushing sounds. If nothing else, the group was a comedy act in themselves.
"…and who was that guy?" Kankuro asked slyly as he bumped his hip into Temari's. She glared at him for a moment before sighing and smiling happily. He didn't want to ask about her choice in expression. Temari only smiled when she was really made at him.
"…Nara…Shikamaru…" Temari said softly, a blush coming to her face. Kankuro watched this curiously, but his attention turned to the drunk teenagers when he heard the two of the three giggle. "And what's your problem!"
"S-Shikamaru!" Neji sniggered as Sasuke joined him in his laughter. The pair looked like they had completely lost their minds-until Gaara started laughing, for no good reason…then it was just evident that all three had gone insane while Temari had been gone.
"He's so boorring!" Sasuke commented, emphasizing his 'boring' as he leaned over on the couch and held his stomach as he let out another hysterical giggle. Temari sighed, shaking her head. Kankuro glanced over at her quickly enough to catch the brief smile that crossed her lips.
He's anything but boring…Temari thought to herself, wondering how she could be so turned on by such an innocent kiss. He's amazing… Kankuro chuckled, gently smacking his sister's face before she got too far into her delusions.
"What about you, Kankuro? You're not wearing any makeup…no hat…you're hair's actually brushed…this girl sure is something," Temari stated, smiling when her brother's uncovered face erupted in pink. She had to admit it to herself-looking at Kankuro like this-he probably could get anyone he wanted. About time…she said inwardly, smiling at her older brother.
"…yea…they're something…" Kankuro replied, getting a glance from Temari that meant she caught his pronoun and wanted an answer to her unasked question. "…I'll tell you later…" He gave her a grin that, thankfully, made Temari sigh and shrug her shoulders.
Kankuro watched the three drunk teens for a moment, wondering how small a world it was. Temari's boyfriend apparently went to school with Sasuke, whose girlfriend somehow knew Gaara, who had been the one to urge Hinata to finally go after Neji before the poor man tried to hang himself from frustration. Kankuro had found out, from the creepy guy, Gai (as he was kicking the man out the door), that his son, who happened to have a crush on Gaara, went to school with Neji, whose cousin/(ex) girlfriend had been the one to introduce Kankuro to Sakura. The girl ironically was a Sasuke-fan and made Kankuro meet Ino, who was also in love with Sasuke, who just so happened to be good friends with Choji, who had a best friend named 'Shikamaru.' Merely thinking about it made Kankuro's head hurt.
He wasn't sure exactly what that made him to acquainted (however indirectly) to everyone his brother, Sasuke, and Neji, knew, but he was sure of one thing. If it hadn't been for this complex web of interactions, he would have never met the person he fell in love with.
Choji…
/…we'll stop there for now…\
Authoress: BOO YAAAAAHHH!…didn't see that one comin,' did ya!
Neji:…Hinata broke up with me…WHY!
Authoress: that's for the next chapter…
Kankuro: I…like Choji?…I thought I was dating Sakura…
Choji:…food?
Authoress: okie…I'll explain this for everyone-just so I don't get those 'WTF just happened!' reviews…kay!
1. Gaara and Lee hold a mutual attraction.
2. Temari and Shikamaru are now an item (and, personally, I think Shikamaru is sooooo Choji's piece of ass…but I had to give Kankuro somebody!…and that's one pairing I've never heard of before!)
3. Sakura is dating Kankuro in appearances only (the reason will be explained later). She's really with Ino--and don't give me that look, folks…if anyone asks for it, I'm writing a Yuri chapter!
4. Sasuke (and the majority of the other characters) still believes Naruto (Aoi) to be a girl.
5. KANKURO LIKES CHOJI!…and Choji is obviously attracted to him…so deal with it…/smiles/ you have to give me brownie points for creativity there!
6. Hinata and Neji had a fight (what about will also be explained later…I'm not writing another section for this chapter…I think I'm getting carpel tunnel) and she hit Neji (so very un-Hinata-ish, I know) and now he thinks that they have broken up and is, obviously, heartbroken.
7. Shukaku finally made his appearance…and no one likes him, except, maybe, Gaara.
Sooo…now that that's all squared away…sayonara until I get feeling back in my wrists! And, please, review and tell me if I missed explaining something-it better not be something I clarified in numbers 1-7, unless you need me to go into further detail!…/smiles evilly/ until our next chapter, arigatou and oyasumi!
