A/N: For Sabrinarus…for last December's review …and well that pm.
Thanks for the reviews, guys! You all have spoiled me rotten. Of course, I'll update so just babble whatever in your reviews. I'm not actually writing-writing these days, more of just writing-editing but I'm far from done so yeah reviews keep me going.
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Chapter 67
"Tell me Choji, how will you feel having Kamaru as part of your new team?" Temari asks. She's sipping tea at the Akimichi's living room. She has come to bring an important ingredient for the pills the Akimichi use in their jutsu. The pouch with the secret component now lay on the table, already given and received.
Choji's round face scrunches up as he thinks. "He can't have solo missions. He can't just join a mission either and definitely he can't lead any missions."
Temari nods her head. Last night's talk with Shikamaru underlined some facts that she'd rather ignore. And it didn't make sleep any easy either. She was up most of the night wrestling with her ingrained principles. In the end, she decided on a compromise. Choji.
Ever since she, Ino and Choji became Chuunins, the three of them joining together in a single mission became less and less. With her not being able to manipulate the shadows, they couldn't utilize the Ino-Shika-Cho Formation unlike their fathers before them.
Of course, she trained hard, harder than anyone, trying to become the best shinobi... to be better than Ino. But it was never enough. While Ino's control of her mind jutsu became more and more finely tuned, she still couldn't cast her shadow to move a millimetre. That pissed her off.
Absolutely, she was beyond pissed off that she could not even accept those stud earrings Asuma-sensei presented to each member of her team as a sign of their coming of age. However, her sensei was too annoying in his resolve for her to receive those studs, saying she more than deserved them. To stop Asuma from badgering her, the two of them reached an agreement regarding those studs.
And now, the rightful heir, the lazy ass wants in on her old team. He just wants to show off what he can do… and Ino's jutsu—it will finally mesh with the shadow jutsu, Shikamaru's shadow jutsu. Hell no! Just no!
Temari takes a calming breath. A compromise. She has decided on a compromise. If Choji agrees, Shikamaru can join him in some of his missions but minus Ino.
Temari looks at Choji pointedly, willing him to answer her question.
"It's alright," Choji replies, wearing a huge smile.
Finally, Temari grins in relief at her friend, only to have the uptilt to her lips dashed almost instantly. "Look. Just in case you see something—" Temari pauses, about to mention Shikamaru's shadow jutsu, "—forget it."
"What is it, Temari?"
"Nothing. I'll tell Asuma-sensei to give Kamaru the option to join you in your missions." Temari stands up from her lumpy chair. When she decided to do this, she also accepted the fact that Shikamaru's jutsu would be revealed sooner or later. The risk of Shikamaru's jutsu being exposed shouldn't be a reason to stop him from taking a more challenging mission. And anyway, he had developed a jutsu that even she was unable to see through. He could use that. "Tell your mom, her cake was delicious as usual and that I went ahead."
Choji stands up, taking the last slice of cake with him before he follows Temari to the door.
"You heard the news that Sasuke's married?" Choji suddenly asks, as he watches Temari changing into her outdoor sandals.
That stops Temari at the door, a frown starting to mar her forehead. "I heard…but why does it concerns me?"
"Uhm…" Choji turns red, uneasy. "I just thought that since…since you were gone for a while, and Sasuke's wedding was announced out of the blue—that you might want to know about it."
"Well, I don't," scowls Temari.
"Okay." Choji tries beaming a coaxing smile.
Temari's frown deepens. Shikamaru's incomprehensible persistence about her and Sasuke, and now Choji's weird question, those must have come from somewhere…"Tell me Choji, did someone—" Temari only knows one person who would. "Did Ino tell you and Kamaru something about me and Sasuke?"
"Uhm nothing."
"ChoJI!" Temari growls, warningly.
Choji finally stuffs the cake inside his mouth and swallows painfully the chunk before he can speak, guiltily admitting, "Ino said you like Sasuke."
"SHE SAID WHAT?" Temari yells as her suspicion is confirmed. The last time Shikamaru visited Konoha two months ago, Ino was all over him. And then at the Nara clan forest, she overheard Ino gossiping something about Sasuke to that lazy ass and Choji. Those three were supposed to be helping her de-horn some deer but instead they were just talking and laughing.
Really! That day…How could she forget that day when it was the day she overheard the stupid ass mentioned, "Tch, I don't like her either." Temari gnashes her teeth at the sudden memory. Although really she's fucking glad that he realized even then that the feeling is mutual!
"Well, you never showed any interest on anyone—well, except that time you stated that Sasuke is the local hottie," Choji hastily tries to reason. "And remember the time you had your hair fixed by Ino? We were like six—seven years old. Right after that, Sasuke said you look weird. Remember how you almost killed Ino. Asuma-sensei had to reassure you that you looked pretty."
"And just because of all that the bitch concluded I like Sasuke!" The veins on Temari's forehead are about to pop in contemptuous fury. Damn it, Sasuke is the local hottie. It's an observable fact. And the only reason she was hurt by Sasuke's remark was because she already thought herself that she looked weird. Hearing his words then was a bloody confirmation to her. With her blonde hair, no matter what she did with it, it reminded her that nobody in her family has blonde hair the same as hers. Even then, she already suspected that something is not right. She—the little girl she was then— cried angrily because of that and damn it, not because she likes Sasuke!
Seeing Temari's wrath about to spill over, Choji tries to explain sheepishly, "Well, all the girls seemed to like Sasuke so it sounded like a safe bet."
Temari can't believe it. That just because of all those things Choji enumerated, the stupid moron who co-habits with her now believes that the baby she's carrying is not his. She might have a hand in why he still thinks that way but…God damn it! That bastard! He started it. He's an overthinking asshole!
And Ino—how could she trust her childhood friend after this?
Suddenly, Temari smashes the door with the side of her closed fist, the vicious impact more than splintering the surface as a jagged opening is created through and through the slab of rectangular wood.
"Urm, Temari?" Choji stammers, surprised and worried, looking back and forth from his former teammate then to the destroyed door.
"I'm telling you so you can tell your stupid new friend, I don't like Sasuke!" Temari roars, too angry to choose her words politely. "And tell Ino to run if she sees me!"
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