A/N: Chaosalien, you sure you owe somebody $10?
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Chapter 102
Yoshino puts a glass of milk on the table in front of Temari. The younger woman with a quick but more of a reflex smile, says, "Thank you."
After the brief exchange, the peaceful silence resumes, only disturbed by the chirp of moths and some night birds resting on the nearby trees. Yoshino simply watches her daughter sitting on the patio chair, the glass of milk soon forgotten.
Tonight is no different from the other nights.
A week after Shikamaru left for Suna, her daughter had taken the habit of sitting by the patio at night. Sometimes she played shougi with her father to pass the time, sometimes she just competed with herself. Other times she read some books in particular cookbooks or she just sat idly, watching her surroundings.
The only thing Temari did that was constant was she would lift her head from whatever task she had at the moment to look up if she heard a disturbance somewhere, a look of expectation briefly touching her face only to be replaced by something akin to disappointment.
That habit still continues to this day, exasperating Yoshino no end. It has already been—what? Four months since that good for nothing husband of her daughter's, left. That nonsense waiting on Temari's part has to stop.
Slowly, not wanting to surprise the younger woman lost in her own thoughts, Yoshino puts her hand on Temari' shoulder. Without removing the contact, the older woman finally sits on a chair beside her daughter. With a loud sigh, she then mutters, "I'm sorry, Temari."
Temari's shoulders stiffen as she faces her mother. "Why?"
"He's not coming back."
"Of course, Shikamaru's coming back," Temari retorts. Hearing her own voice and realizing how defensive she sounded, she takes a calming breath. Caressing her bulging abdomen, she grins, forcibly casting away the frown on her face. "It's almost time. He'll be back before our baby is born."
"Temari—"
"Lady Tsunade had already informed us that with the Fourth Kazekage…" Temari's voice hesitates on the word dead, replacing it with another word, "…gone, Suna is politically unstable right now. My brothers need their oldest brother to beat that storm. Even otosan is positive that Shikamaru will be back here with us once everything is put in order in Suna."
"You and your father!" grumbles Yoshino. "It's already been four months since he left."
"Kasan, this isn't the first time Shikamaru went away longer than expected." Temari sniggers softly as a memory flits in her head. "There was a time, ages ago, that Kankuro really thought his big bro's dead. He had the shock of his life when that ass returned out of the blue. Even I—I almost gave up hope that Shikamaru would be back."
"Temari…" Yoshino seeks her daughter's hand, clasping it with both of hers atop her daughter's stomach. "I have a confession to make."
"Confession?" echoes Temari, uneasy. "You make it sound so ominous."
"With the Kazekage gone, your baby is safe."
The Kazekage…it's easier to call him that than Gaara's father, Kankuro's dad, Shikamaru's old man or for Temari, the man that sired her. "Yes. I'm fully aware of that fact," she snaps. Now, that the Kazekage's dead and buried, the questions she wants to ask him will remain that—questions. She couldn't rant and ask, how could he do that to her, his own child?!
"Shikamaru and I—" Yoshino's grasp of Temari's hand tightens further. "—we have an agreement. He proposed that he would leave us alone as soon as the baby's safe in exchange for—"
"What are you trying to tell me?" Temari shakes off the hand holding hers as she tries to sit straighter. "He can't just leave permanently without telling me."
But then an unbidden thought pricks her…she didn't actually give Shikamaru a chance to say something to her before he left for Suna. What if the ass thought that she was unforgivably furious with him for still going when she made it so obvious that she didn't want him to go?
"NO!" Temari growls at her mother, shaking her head adamantly, trying to shake off her unwanted thoughts. "He's not leaving his family just because of some silly agreement you two have."
"It's not silly," retorts Yoshino. Uttering in a voice that grows steely, she continues, "If your husband has an ounce of respect for me, he would respect our agreement."
"Did you remind him that before he left for Suna?" Temari inquires in an accusing tone, wondering what transpired between Shikamaru and Yoshino. And silently kicking herself for not being there when Shikamaru left.
"Shikamaru doesn't need to be reminded of our agreement," Yoshino says coldly, remembering the night he left for that mission against Hidan.
That night, no matter how tired Yoshino felt for doing laundry all day of every available curtains in her own home, her mind kept drifting off as she washed the dishes, that she didn't even noticed when Kamaru approached her until he spoke behind her.
Shikamaru had uttered in a quiet voice, "My father has started moving his pieces. It must mean it'll be over soon."
Yoshino just continued washing the dishes, not bothering to answer.
Undeterred, that boy continued, "When this is over, I will leave. Just that—"
"You still think of leaving when this is all over?" Yoshino interrupted then.
"I didn't forget about our deal," Shikamaru then reassured her.
"Shikamaru has not forgotten our agreement because he's that kind of shinobi," Yoshino declares clearly, "His words are actually worth something."
Temari opens her mouth then closes it off. She is about to tell Yoshino that she loves Shikamaru and that he loves her back but then her mother is right. Shikamaru is that kind of shinobi. Honor before anything else. And furthermore…wasn't she the one who asked Shikamaru time and again to do everything to gain Yoshino's trust.
He finally does it…at the expense of leaving her.
That ass! Temari fumes.
"What are you going to do about it?" Yoshino finally asks, sounding expectant.
"Nothing," Temari snaps.
The older woman sighs, whether in triumph or disappointment, Temari just can't be bothered to examine.
—o0o—
After spending a restless night inside the bedroom she shared with Shikamaru, Temari can't wait to get out of it.
Even before the dawn can break, she's out of the bed. Fluffing the pillows and fixing the blanket, she's then reminded that there's no sleepy head for her to wake up.
She's so used to him being around, that the idea that he will leave for good—without it being spelled out to her in bold letters—never occurred to her.
Grumbling under her breath, she grabs her towel. It's going to be a fucking long day, she might as well get refreshed.
—o0o—
Temari runs into Kurenai and her baby, Mirai, on her way to the market. While the older woman carries her sleeping child on her arms, their steps feel into a companionable soft thuds on the ground.
Asuma's widow has lost some weight the past couple of months but it looks now, that she's gaining some of those lost kilograms back. That reassures Temari that Kurenai is doing better these days than before.
"So how are you?" Kurenai asks, only to laugh, interjecting, "No, don't answer that. I know, I know. Hot. Huge. Ungainly. If you are the same as me…You can't wait for the babe to come out."
Temari caresses her tummy, grinning her agreement.
"So how's Kamaru?" Kurenai queries, adding solemnly, "I heard what happened to his father."
"He's okay, I guess," Temari replies in a flat tone.
"What do you mean, you guess?"
"He had not actually sent any letters to us since he left. We just knew he's alive because ever since Lady Tsunade received a scroll bearing the news that the Fourth Kazekage was dead, no other similar scroll had arrived," utters Temari with a shrug, acting nonchalant. "Surely, they would notify us if say that ass suddenly fell ill and died or if he was wounded and then later, died."
Kurenai halts, seeming rooted on the spot as she gasps, "They could also hid that fact—"
Temari replies, not bothering to stop walking. "Yeah. They could. With how messy Suna politics is right now, everything is possible."
"But despite that you're sure Kamaru's okay, right?"
"Of course. Again, according to—" Temari, tone dripping with self-directed mockery, reiterates, "—Lady Tsunade, that husband of mine is still breathing."
Kurenai discerns Temari's frustration, understanding why the younger woman feels irked. As the wife, Temari should be the one informing the Hokage that Kamaru is fine, not the other way around.
Kurenai moves the sleeping tot's lolling head on her shoulder, finding a more comfortable position before she resumes walking. Taking larger strides to catch up with the younger kunoichi, it doesn't take long because the hugely pregnant woman isn't the best when it comes to speed with her condition.
They have taken several more steps together before Kurenai finally asks the question that's been bothering her. "Temari, is everything between you and Kamaru okay? I don't want to sound like I'm prying but—nevermind."
Temari's sudden sharp gaze turns questioning. "Nevermind, what?"
Kurenai meets Temari's puzzled gaze with her unique red colored eyes. "Asuma's trench knives are with Kamaru. That's because I bequeathed your husband one but the other one is for Mirai. I just let him have it for now on a loan."
Kurenai is aware of what she sounds like. She sounds like she's about to fret that she'll never see those trench knives again. Taking a deep breath as she tries to brush off her unease, she then continues, "I know I shouldn't worry." Glancing at the dark head of the baby napping on her shoulder, she utters almost apologetically, "Mirai is still too young to need her father's trench knife but the last time I spoke to Kamaru he asked me, what if he has to go back to Suna. I answered, he'll do the right thing and come back."
Temari isn't stupid. She knows that Kurenai won't appear worried for nothing. "What did the ass said to that?"
"He asked me, what if he can't," replies Kurenai. It finally dawns to her that the boy was trying to say something to her then. "Is there something stopping Kamaru from coming back here to Konoha?"
Temari bites the inside of her cheek as she holds Kurenai's questioning gaze. The answer on the tip on her tongue, leaves a far worst taste in her mouth than the blood seeping from her bite. "Yes," she finally utters in a clipped tone.
The fact that Shikamaru wants to honor his deal with Yoshino—above everything else—obviously appears logical to him. Right this moment, he must feel like shit. He must feel more miserable than she is but…what can he do when he gave his promise—his word?
It shows what kind of man he is.
Shikamaru chooses to earn Yoshino's respect…and Temari has no doubt that is because of her. That in itself, shows how much he loves her.
"I'll see what I can do about the trench knife. Kamaru doesn't need to bring it himself. I'll talk to Lady Tsunade later to arrange it," says Temari as she tries to smile reassuringly at Kurenai. "I better get going. The market may ran out of mackerels if I don't hurry."
Mackerels. Those salt water fishes, more easily transported and delivered to Konoha than to a desert like Suna, are Shikamaru's favorite food. For the past months, she had been training—learning—different ways of cooking the damn fish. So serious was she that she stupidly mastered them all.
God damn it! The market may have again run out of the blasted fish and the really hateful thing is, it doesn't matter.
Last night's talk with her kasan and now, Kurenai, have proved that it doesn't matter…
Between what Yoshino and Kurenai just revealed to her and what she knows of Shikamaru's personality, the ass won't back out from his words. Simple as that.
With a defeated, disgruntled sigh, Temari changes direction, bounding back for home. All the while thinking that Shikamaru must have asked something great from Yoshino for him to give his iron clad word that he would leave her and their baby once the threat is over.
Temari never thought to ask what that was from Yoshino. What's the point? It will just underline the fact that in the end, her kaasan can never ever actually accept Kamaru as her son.
—o0o—
That night, Temari stays indoors.
That night, Yoshino, bearing a glass of milk for her daughter, notices that for the first time in months, the patio is empty except for her.
TBC
—o0o—
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A/N: Guys, thank you for your English and Italian comments…I'm so hooked to your reviews that I updated fast :D