59
Awakening
Tsunade breathed the outside air, which had started to get cooler, fortunately. She had found an outside stairs leading up the Kazekage's tower. She was enjoying her being alone, taking out a little flask from one little attachment on her thigh. She stopped just before she reached the stone terrace and took a big gulp. When she went up the terrace itself, she flinched - on the stone parapet there was a shinobi sitting with his legs crossed, his ankles in front of his hips. It was one of hers - Shikamaru.
"Tsunade-sama." he said without turning.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
He didn't answer for a long time as if he didn't hear her. At the end he sighed and came down from the ledge. She thought she saw some sadness in his black eyes, but when she looked at them again, the sadness was already gone.
"There are too many people," he shrugged. "And too much noise."
Tsunade nodded. She was aware the man prefers the calm and quiet. She was aware why he was here as well… Godaime was sure he was ripping from the inside, but it was not in his nature to show it.
"Tell me, what's wrong." She asked and came closer to him.
"We are going home soon." He replied, looking down at the appearing little lights in the village below.
"Yes," confirmed the woman.
"I want to at least see her." He shrugged and there was just a hint of worry on his face. Of course it disappeared right away.
"The last procedure is in two days. If she wakes up for even a second, she will most probably survive and wake up fully with some more lighter procedures. If she doesn't wake…" She didn't finish the sentence.
"I understand…" He nodded calmly.
"But you will be able to see her after the procedure is done, no matter the result."
"All right."
Godaime was genuinely surprised by the calm behaviour. She expected… something, an emotion.
"But you do realise she is not able to talk. And no one really can say if she can hear…"
"I know that," he shrugged. "I brought something to her. I want to leave it within her, so she can see it when she wakes up." He said, as if the possibility of her not waking up didn't exist.
Then Tsunade felt it - his absolute confidence in Temari's ability to come to life. She thought if he was able to tell Temari that, with the very same confidence… And if it was true that people in coma can hear, it all may be even useful. Godaime narrowed her eyes kindly and smiled warmly.
"You know… Maybe you can go to just see her for a minute or two now… Just don't leave anything there yet." He looked at the woman with suspicion and she continued. "Go to the hospital and use my name. If they ask me, I will confirm it."
They were silent for a few more minutes, then the Hokage spoke again:
"I am not going to ask you if you know what you are doing." She said knowing well he had thought it many times before even reaching a point to actually act.
He nodded silently.
"I really hope she overcomes this."
He nodded again and looked at her:
"She is too troublesome to give up." Shikamaru smiled so slightly, she thought she imagined it. Then he headed towards the stairs on the other side of the terrace.
"Shikamaru…" She made him stop and turned. "One minute."
He nodded and jumped down over the ledge of the stairs.
…
Shikamaru knocked on the door. He didn't really expect someone to call "yes" or "enter", he did just out of habit. He pressed the door handle and entered the room. The light breeze coming from the opened window pleasantly cooled his skin. He was calm… While he was walking towards the hospital, he was really tense, but now he felt calm.
He entered and closed the door. Stepping in the room, his breath was caught in his throat. His gaze fixed the bed and he couldn't move - there on the pure white sheets was her…
"Oh, dear… Temari…" he whispered.
He barely could recognise her. That pale woman over there just farly resembled the proud and even sometimes mean woman he knew. And even so - her golden hair was spread over the pillow just like the sunlights. He had never seen her hair loose, but he liked the image of it. Her face was pale and thinner, her lips were pale and their skin was cracked. Her lips…whose ends he used to see pulled in ironic smiles, were now so untypically relaxed… Shikamaru realised that those mean smiles of hers were one of his favourite things about that woman, even if he stated they were annoying. And her toned, strong and wonderful body was almost lost… as thin as it was now.
He shook his head, knowing he had less than half a minute left. The man approached the bed and leaned over her. He placed his forehead on hers. Closing his eyes, he sighed:
"You better wake up. My days would be much less troublesome without you… But they won't be worth it…"
He pulled away and looked at her for a few more seconds. Then the door opened.
"Shikamaru-sama, the time is up," the nurse said.
"I am done." He nodded and exited the room.
…
An hour after midnight most of the people had gone home already. In the hall there were left mostly people from the organisation, some quite drunk guests, the Konoha group, Gaara and Kankuro.
Tenten yawned and got up slowly.
"I think I am going to sleep. I really can't keep my eyes open anymore."
The rest nodded empathically, wished her goodnight and she headed slowly to the stairs through the big room. The white dress was smoothly following her movements and made her look somehow… mystical. Tsunade took a glance at the surprised faces of Lee and Gai, then caught.
"Kankuro… Are you really leaving your bride alone?" She asked him, fixing her brown-amber eyes in his.
He shook off the tired trance he had fallen into and got up nimbly.
"Oh, I wouldn't let her be alone, all right." The man smiled, nodded and headed after Tenten.
She heard his steps and turned around:
"Kankuro?" She raised her eyebrows.
"I am sorry, but there is some more acting to be done."
She looked at his eyes and nodded. The man bent, grabbed her legs behind her knees, at the same time wrapping his other hand around her waist. He lifted her with no visible effort. The girl grabbed his shoulders - she was aware her weight shouldn't be a problem to him, but she still tensed and pulled herself up with arms. She needed minimal control of the situation and the control came with a bit of relaxation. It wasn't the first time someone carried her. Lee was using her for running weight quite often… But to be true to herself, she never felt so secure she is not going to fall off. So she let herself relax a bit more.
"I forgot for a moment that Gai-sensei and Lee don't know the whole picture." He shared quietly.
"Honestly, me too…" She whispered back, leaning her head to lay down his shoulder. He was moving so smoothly… Tenten sighed and cuddled against his chest.
Kankuro was able to sense the scent of spring flowers, coming from her hair. It was so pleasant… And especially her body, pressed so close to his, trustingly.
When she insisted yesterday he went to the hospital, a young medic had extracted the poison, left in his body. He felt so well now and he was not going to admit it, but he was genuinely grateful she forced him to go. The knowledge he was not going to have a fever during the night made him feel lighter.
When they hid behind the corner he could have let her down on the floor. No one was looking at them, so it wasn't necessary to keep carrying her… But Kankuro preferred to keep her close. He was walking slowly to prolong the journey as much as he could. Eventually he reached the room. He looked down at her, she raised her face to him and smiled:
"I can walk, you know."
"I know," he said without averting his eyes.
"This is not my room."
"That's correct," he nodded. "That's our room."
Then she remembered what Gaara had said and shook her head slightly. Kankuro entered the room, still carrying her in his hands, just as if everything was real. He let her on the floor carefully and she looked around - the room was huge. In the middle of the opposite to the door wall was a big bed - her things were all here, placed on the chest at the bottom of it. Both the left and right walls had furniture on them. On the wall, where the bed was attached to, there was a window to the right. The walls were connected to each other with bevelled corners - each with a door. She went to the right door and opened it - it was a bathroom, a really big one with all the comforties she could think of. The girl looked at Kankuro with wide eyes:
"The bathroom is just… spectacular."
He nodded calmly.
Tenten continued to look around. She went to the other door, left the bed, and opened it. There was a fully functional baby room, in the middle of which was standing a lonely baby crib. She closed the door carefully and turned to the man:
"Did you know what was in there?" She asked quietly and he nodded.
"Yes, I knew. This was my parents room…"
…
Kankuro undressed himself almost fully, leaving only his underpants. It was really warm here, in Suna… And he went to bed, laying down in it. Tenten took out her sleeping sleeveless long top and went to the bathroom to change. When she entered the room, she saw the man's dark eyes fixated on her. She shivered and stopped a few steps before the bed. She was obviously hesitating.
"Are you afraid of me?" He asked and lifted up his body on his elbow.
"No," she said, shaking her head.
"Then come here…" He patted the spot on the other side of the bed.
"It is just… Considering what happened before the official dinner.." she started quietly.
"You are afraid it may happen again?" he guessed.
She nodded shily. Kankuro sighed and sat on the bed, crossing his ankles near his body. Lamp's poor light somehow accented on the bronze colour of his bare chest's skin. The girl bit her lip innerly without realising she did.
"Come here and sit. I think if we both want to be able somehow…to live together, we should talk and set up some ground rules and…boundaries." He left his hands to lay down on his lap. "I guess this will make us both more peaceful with each other."
Tenten looked at his face - what he just said actually sounded really practical. Ground rules were a good thing, the boundaries - also. She climbed up the bed and sat on her heels against him.
"We are not having sex." She said bluntly, looking him straight in the eye, even though she blushed.
"The sex is off the table." He nodded, agreeingly.
"And… the kisses too…"
He reached out, grabbed her hand and pulled it to his mouth. He tenderly kissed her palm, causing her to take a sharp breath.
"Are those kisses fine?" He asked, smiling mischievously and she carefully pulled her hand.
"I am talking about those kisses… like the one… before the official dinner," she specified.
"Right. Then I would say you should exclude that dress you wore then from your wardrobe for the time being." He teased, still smiling.
"We have a deal." She nodded, returning his smile.
He looked at her thoughtfully for like, what it felt, a minute.
"I can offer you something else. Let's set up a number of questions each of us can ask. The thing is we will have to answer honestly. They can be personal, uncomfortable or any others. How does this sound to you?"
"What's the main idea?"
"Well, obviously we are not husband and wife, we are not lovers either… We are not teammates as well. My idea is to become friends, which will be, in my opinion, the easiest way to be together during the following months without feeling weird."
She was silent for some time, thinking through his offer. The difference between being a friend with someone and just acquaintance was in the quality and the quantity of things you know about them, and vice versa. So if they forced themselves to share information this way, that would make them really close and maybe friends. She kind of liked the idea, it sounded… a bit twisted, but in a good way.
"Three questions a day," she said. "And each of us has the right to not answer one of them."
"Deal," he nodded. "Whatever we share here, stays here. No judging and no mean laughing are allowed."
Tenten nodded enthusiastically, liking the addition.
"You can start first," the man smiled.
"That… The evening before the official dinner… When you kissed me and told me those things… Was that acting?"
He stared in her eyes barely holding himself from pulling her to him. She sensed the intensity of his gaze and moved a bit uncomfortably.
"No." He said shortly and emphatically.
"Oh…" She looked down to the sheets.
"So let's get back to that same kiss. Was that your first real kiss?"
"It was," she said, biting her lips shyly.
"Well, I wish I could say I am sorry I stole it. But I really can't do it." He shrugged and she felt he was telling the truth.
"Have you had a lot of… real kisses until now?"
"I would say yes." He nodded. "And since I already know you haven't had sex, my question would be why?"
She took a sharp breath, wondering how much she would actually feel ok to share. Should she keep her right to dodge that question instead? She decided that it is fine to tell him what she told her friends - part of the truth.
"I want to find the right person for me." She said, shrugging. "I want to be sure in my feelings and to know he loves me back."
"Well, even though it is untypical and impractical, I could say it sounds nice."
"Why it is "untypical and impractical" according to you?" she frowned.
"Because you actually miss a lot of nice sensations and experiences, plus you hold up a lot of sexual tension which is usually kind of interfere. I mean to the training sessions and to the missions." He also shrugged and his skin reflected the soft light, attracting her gaze yet again to his bare chest. "I think your questions are over for today," he smirked.
"No, they are not. I got one left. Wanting an explanation to your comment of "untypical and impractical" can hardly be counted as a real question," she lit up, and he laughed heartily.
"All right, all right… Go ahead then."
"Have you had sex with a lot of women?" she asked, blushing.
"Define a lot of."
"More than five?" She guessed from the conversations with Ino, but that was the number she actually considered more like a "many".
"Well, yeah, in this case the answer is many." He smiled at her blushing face, but not in a mean manner.
"Was there a man, who you wanted to have sex with in your life experience till now?"
She stood silent for some time, then he sighed and added:
"I am not asking you about names."
"I guess, then it is a yes."
He nodded.
"I think we are done with the cross interrogations for the evening. So I could ask a normal question like - would you like to go to sleep now? I really am tired."
She smiled with a kind of relief. Then laid down to her side of the bed, wrapping herself to the nose in the thin covers. Kankuro smirked. He got up to turn the lights off, then went back to the bed. He closed his eyes and sighed…
…
"Hold on! Just a bit more!" Tsunade said, already gasping for air. "None should quit!" She ordered.
The medics gathered their focus and fixed the chakra flow each to his spot over Temari's body. One more minute… Just one more… And when the minute ran out, all the three medics collapsed on the floor of the room, panting. Only Godaime stood up, trying to catch her breath. When she succeeded to normalise her breathing, she approached the pale woman on the hospital bed. She bent down over her and gently touched her shoulder.
"Temari-san." She called her name. "Do you hear me, Temari?"
Temari moaned quietly instead of answering with words. She tried opening her eyes, which were as they were glued. She tried to blink with her eyes still closed, then attempted to open them again - when she succeeded, Tsunade saw her so green irises were quite dull right now. Temari tried to frown… She tried to focus her sight in order to see…
"Ho…ka…ge… sama." She whispered dryly. Then her eyes shut again, her forehead relaxed - Temari had fallen asleep, just a normal sleep…
The medics, together with Godaime, exited the room. She stepped towards the Temari brothers, who were waiting in the hallway. Both of them were tense and slightly paler than their usual selves.
Tsunade smiled - such a simple gesture, causing their faces to light up.
Then all the eyes turned to Gaara - he was crying…
