Chapter 3
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Naruto Universe. This is a story for all to enjoy.
Temari looked around her room, making sure she hadn't missed anything that she might need for her trip to Konoha. She decided to put the folder containing all the information for the trials in a storage scroll and then to seal it. She dropped the scroll in her pack. She didn't want to leave it out for Kankuro to find. There was no telling what may happen if he came across the participants profiles and leaked the names to Gaara. She had a plan and she wanted to make sure it was followed through.
Temari picked up her pack and threw it on her back. She walked downstairs and met Gaara at the door. They both said "goodbye" to Kankuro and headed for the Suna gates. Baki was there at the gates to meet them. Temari listened to Gaara as he informed Baki that Kankuro was in charge. If any trouble arose, Gaara told Baki to reach him in Konoha. Baki nodded his head and then saw Gaara and Temari head out into the desert.
Temari and Gaara traveled in a comfortable silence. They took a couple of breaks in order to drink from their canteens and eat a snack. In a matter of hours, they had reached an old, abandoned outpost that stood within a day's walking distance of the border of Fire. They decided to stop for the night to rest. They still had two days of travel till they reached the gates of Konoha.
Gaara worked on starting a fire in the fire pit that was located in the center of the building while Temari pulled out a storage scroll that contained different types of teas and prepared bento boxes. Once the fire was going, Temari poured some water from her canteen into the teapot and placed it on the stand above the fire. Gaara found a comfortable spot a good distance away from the fire and sat down, waiting for Temari to hand him something to eat. She pulled two bento boxes out of the storage scroll and handed one to Gaara.
When Temari heard the teapot whistle, she took it from the fire and added the tea leaves to the pot. She let the leaves steep for a few minutes. When the time passed, she then poured the tea into two tea cups. She then handed one of the cups to Gaara.
She sat a good distance from Gaara and opened her bento box. "Itadakimasu," was said by both and they started eating their prepared meals. When Gaara finished his meal, he offered his thanks to Temari. She gave him a pleasant smile and said, "you're welcome."
When they had both finished their meals, Temari washed and dried the dishes and stored them back in the storage scroll. She stretched and then sat back down. She was going to pull a book out of her pack when Gaara started talking to her.
"Temari, are you sure there is no other way to stop the trials from proceeding?" Gaara asked her.
"No, Gaara. I tried to think of different ways to stop the trials and looked through all the information that the council gave me. I think the council has you in a corner right now, but trust me. I'm not going to let you down. I have a plan in the works."
"I want to trust you, Temari, but I don't know if I can trust the council. Can't you at least let me know who they picked to participate in the trials?"
"Gaara, as much as I would love to tell you who they picked, the council made it very clear that I was not to give you that information. You're just going to have to trust that I have your best interest at heart."
"Alright, I'll leave it for now, but please understand, I'm very unhappy about all of this. I think I'll turn in now. I want to get an early start for tomorrow."
Temari watched as Gaara walked over to the far window and sat in the lotus position and started to meditate. Then, she got up and crawled into her sleeping bag, which she positioned not too far from the fire.
When dawn arrived, Gaara broke from his meditation and walked over to wake Temari up. Once she was awake, they ate a quick breakfast after which, they took off for Konoha.
It was early evening when they arrived at the gates of Konoha. The guards at the gate recognized the sand siblings and allowed them entrance into Konoha. The two headed for Hokage tower in order to let Tsunade know of their arrival. After checking in with the Hokage, they walked to the inn that they always stayed at. When they had gotten settled in their room, they ordered room service and then turned in for the night.
Temari woke up to find the sun shining on her. She prepared herself for the day and then walked over to Gaara's room to see if he was up yet. Sensing her presence, he opened the door and allowed her to enter.
They both decided to go to the pub located downstairs for their breakfast. Gaara finished his meal first and told Temari that he had a full day of meetings with Tsunade and her council that he needed to leave for. Temari bobbed her head and stated that she was going to look around the village and see if she could find Shikamaru. Gaara got up, tucked the chair under the table and left for his meetings.
Temari decided she would go to the marketplace and have a look around before she would try locating Shikamaru. She stopped at a couple of the vendor's stands, to look at their merchandise when she came across Naruto and Hinata. Naruto saw her before she saw him and he shouted, "Hey, Temari! How you doin'? Is Gaara with you?"
Temari rolled her eyes at Naruto's enthusiasm. "Yes, Gaara is here, but he's in meetings with Tsunade all day today," she said. "I'm fine. How are you two doing?"
Hinata gave her a shy smile and quietly spoke, "Ww-we are ff-fine."
"Hey! Since you're both in Konoha, why doncha come over for dinner tonight with Gaara? You can't pass up one of Hinata's dinners," Naruto said animatedly as he squeezed one of Hinata's shoulders.
Temari tried to stifle a chuckle at Naruto's excitement. "I know Gaara wouldn't want to miss it. We'll both come," she told them. "What time should we be there?"
"6 would be fine," Hinata told Temari.
Temari nodded in agreement as Naruto and Hinata excused themselves. They still had errands to finish before they saw everyone for dinner. Temari watched them leave and thought to herself that she hoped she and her brothers could find a love like Naruto and Hinata's. She grinned to herself and continued her perusal of the vendor stalls.
After walking through the marketplace, Temari headed for the restaurant district. It was time for lunch and she wanted a decent place to eat. While walking past a few different places, she finally came across a tea shop that looked interesting. As she was going to enter the place, she heard her name being called. She turned around and spotted Ino and Tenten. Both girls rushed over to her and asked if she was going to get some lunch.
"Yes. I thought I would try this tea shop," Temari said.
Tenten looked up at the sign for the tea shop and recognized the place. "This place has some great food. Mind if we join you, Temari?"
"Not at all. Come on. Let's get something to eat," grinned Temari as she opened the door of the tea shop for the girls to follow her.
The hostess of the tea shop showed the girls to a table in the far back corner of the shop. She handed them their menus and told them that their waitress would be over to get their order shortly.
The girls looked through the menu and gave their order to the waitress. After Temari saw the waitress walk away, she spoke up. "How are you two doing?"
Ino spoke first. "I'm doing fine," she said. "Although, I'm quite busy working in both the hospital and the flower shop. I also try to spend as much time as I can with Sai. He helps in the flower shop as well when he's not sent on missions."
"The weapons shop is slow sometimes, but Lee and Guy sensei make sure to keep me busy with their antics," laughed Tenten.
"What brings you to Konoha?" Ino questioned Temari.
"Gaara and I have meetings with your Hokage. By the way, how is Sakura doing? I see she is not with you." Tamari gave a questioning glance at Tenten.
"Tch! That girl breathes, eats and sleeps that hospital," Ino said with an annoyed voice. "I keep telling Sakura that she is overworking herself and that she needs to take a break.
I'm getting to my wits end with her. I tell ya, Temari. She won't listen to anyone except Tsunade. Tsunade has to force her to take days off."
The girls' lunch arrived and at first, they quietly ate their meals. In between bites, the girls talked about different things and of the local gossip in the village.
"I have an idea," exclaimed Tenten after she had finished her lunch. "Let's have a spa day tomorrow. Just us girls. We can go to that new hot springs place that just opened a week ago."
"That's a great idea," Ino said. "Temari, since you have a meeting with Tsunade, why don't you ask her to tell Sakura to take tomorrow off? Then, we will go over to Sakura's apartment and drag her with us to the hot springs."
Temari gave the girls a wicked grin and agreed with the plan. "Let's meet at the flower shop tomorrow about 9 in the morning and we'll make a day of it. I'll make sure that Tsunade gives Sakura the day off. I'm glad we got to meet today."
The girls paid for their lunch and headed out of the tea shop. When they were outside, they finalized their plans for the next day and then said goodbye to each other.
Temari headed in the direction of Hokage tower. When she arrived, she entered the building and climbed the stairs up to Tsunade's office. While standing outside of Tsunade's office door, she could hear Gaara's voice. She knocked on the door and heard Tsunade say, "Come in."
She entered and walked over to stand by Gaara's side. Gaara acknowledged her presence and told Tsunade, "Thanks for meeting with me, but I think we will need to put our plans on hold for now. I will get back to you when we can resume our talks."
Tsunade told Gaara that was fine. She could understand and sympathize with how busy Gaara was with his Kazekage duties.
Temari tapped her brother on his shoulder. "I saw Naruto and Hinata today. They invited us for dinner tonight," she informed him. "They would like us to be there by 6."
Gaara responded, "I look forward to it. My meeting with Tsunade is finished. I'm going to go find Naruto and visit with him for awhile. I'll meet you back at the inn before we go to Naruto's tonight."
"Ok. I have some questions for Tsunade, so I'll see you later tonight."
Gaara said goodbye to both his sister and to the Hokage and headed out of the tower to find Naruto.
Tsunade looked at Temari and asked, "You have some questions for me?"
"Yes. I had lunch with Ino and Tenten today and we decided we would like to go visit the new hot springs that opened up last week. We would like to invite Sakura to come with us, but Ino informed me that Sakura is overworking herself and will not take time off away from the hospital. The only person she will listen to is you. Would you please allow Sakura to have tomorrow off, so she can spend some quality time with her friends?"
"I can and will do that, Temari. I know how hard Sakura works and it does bother me that she devotes so much time to her job. Some days, I have to fight with her to get her to leave the hospital. Do you need anything else?"
Temari started getting nervous at this point. She knew what she needed to ask and wanted a few minutes to pull herself together. This was going to be a big plea and she wanted to make sure she worded her request appropriately. After taking a big breath, she launched into her appeal.
"Suna is putting together a competition between kunoichis. Our council has requested that I be in charge of this competition," as she started explaining the situation to Tsunade.
Tamari continued. "I don't want to disrupt our medical the Suna hospital and formally request that Haruno Sakura be given permission to come to Suna and serve as head medic for this competition."
Tsunade grabbed her cup of sake and drank it as she thought about Temari's request. "A competition between kunoichis, hmm? How long would you need her for?"
"We would need her for about a month," replied Temari. She stood in front of Tsunade clenching and unclenching her fists. This was it. Whatever answer Tsunade gave was going to either make her plan work or she was going to have to start over from scratch and then, she may not be able to help Gaara in the end.
Tsunade could see how nervous Temari looked. She wanted to drag out her answer, so she took another slow sip of her sake and tried to offer some to Temari. She grinned at Temari. "Sure. I'll send Sakura to help out with your little competition. I look forward to getting reports from Sakura in regards to this competition of yours."
Temari let out a breath that she didn't know that she was holding and grinned back at Tsunade. "Thanks for allowing Sakura to come to Suna. I know we will benefit from her medical services."
"Is there anything else I can do for Suna?" Tsunade asked.
"No. That is all the questions I have to ask," Temari said.
"Fine. Then you may go. Good luck with your competition." Tsunade said as she waved Temari off.
Temari bowed to the Hokage and took her leave. Tsunade watched her leave and close the door behind her. She chuckled to herself while she grabbed for the hidden bottle of sake to refill her cup. "Well Gaara, you may not have to put your plans on hold after all," Tsunade snickered to herself.
As Temari made her way down the stairs inside of Hokage tower, she spotted Shikamaru. She waved to get his attention and then made her way over to him. "Why, hello there, Shikamaru. What are you up to?" she asked.
Shikamaru stared at her and said, "I just got done delivering some paperwork to Ibiki. Why do you want to know?"
"Well I was wondering if you were busy. Would you like to go for a walk?" she asked.
"That's fine. I'm done for the day anyway. We could head over to the park and watch the clouds go by."
"Ok I'm up for that. By the way Naruto and Hinata invited Gaara and I over for dinner. Why don't you join us?" She gave Shikamaru a hopeful look.
"Dinner at Naruto's… Troublesome, but I'll go." He saw the smile on Temari's face and knew he had just made her the happiest girl in all the hidden villages. Troublesome, he whispered in his mind. He started walking to the park knowing that Temari would follow him.
Temari noticed that it was getting late, so she nudged Shikamaru and told him that they should start heading towards the inn to get Gaara. Shikamaru stood up and grabbed Temari's hand to help pull her up to her feet. He helped her find her balance and then they both started walking towards the inn.
When they got closer to the inn, they noticed Gaara was waiting for them. Gaara joined Temari and Shikamaru as they walked to Naruto and Hinata's house.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, they finally arrived at the place they were to have dinner. Temari knocked on the door, announcing their presence. Naruto came to the door and opened it for them, so they could walk on through. Naruto told them that Hinata was in the kitchen preparing dinner.
Temari walked to the kitchen and offered her assistance with dinner, but Hinata told her that that was not necessary since she had everything under control. Temari left Hinata to her work and joined the men in the living room.
She sat next to Shikamaru and listened as Naruto told everyone about one of his old missions with Team 7.
Soon, Hinata came in the room to tell everyone that dinner was ready and to go ahead and take their seats at the dinner table. Before everyone could finish sitting down, Sakura entered Naruto's home in a rush. She asked Naruto and Hinata to forgive her for being late. "There was an emergency C-section that I had to perform. And you know babies like to come on their own time schedule," she said jokingly.
Naruto said, "That's ok, Sakura-chan. I knew you would get here when you could. You can take the seat next to Gaara. Hinata has a great meal planned for everyone. Let's dig in before it gets cold."
Temari watched for Gaara's reaction when Sakura sat next to him. She couldn't help but smirk to herself when she saw Gaara's eyes light up and a tiny blush started to appear on his face.
Everyone started passing and filling their plates. Once the plates were filled everyone said "Itadakimasu" and started eating.
Temari looked over to Hinata and said, "Everything is delicious, Hinata. Thanks for letting us enjoy your cooking." Hinata responded with a shy smile and a light coloring of her cheeks.
"Hinata is a great cook." said Sakura, bowing her head in agreement. "I'm glad that she's able to get Naruto to eat something other than ramen."
"Aww, Sakura-chan," Naruto started complaining, but noticing the crinkle in her eyes, he offered up a laugh instead.
"By the way, Sakura, the girls and I have decided to visit the new hot springs tomorrow. I know Tsunade gave you tomorrow off. You're coming with us whether you want to or not. I need a day to spend with some girls," Temari demanded.
"Umm, ok Temari. But, how do you know that I have off tomorrow?" Sakura inquired.
"Because, I asked Tsunade to give it to you," Temari responded simply. "Oh, Hinata, you can come with us tomorrow as well. We will be meeting outside the Yamanaka flower shop at 9 in the morning."
"Ugh.. I can't believe you did that Temari," an annoyed Sakura said. "Ino probably told you that I've been working too hard at the hospital." Sakura crossed her arms above her chest and gave an angry snort, looking away from Temari. Temari just chuckled at her obvious pout.
Hinata wanted to change the subject and help put Sakura in a better mood. "How are things going with the new children's medical facility?" Hinata murmured.
Sakura noticing the change in topic gave Hinata a grateful smile and answered her by saying, "Everything is going great. The addition to the hospital is finished. We just need to decorate the new rooms and then we can officially open the new ward."
"Hey, that is great Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Yes. Ino and I will both be busy for the next couple of weeks," Sakura stated. "I am looking forward to providing this service to all of Konoha's children. That reminds me, Gaara, I am so glad that you are here. I was hoping to talk to you about bringing this children's program to Suna. Do you think Suna would be interested in something like this?"
"I'm sure Suna would be highly interested in a program that would benefit its children,".Gaara answered Sakura's query.
He had been listening to the various conversations, especially when she spoke. "Why don't we meet for lunch and you can tell me more about this program?" Gaara said, now asking his own question. He was hoping Sakura wouldn't notice how warm his cheeks felt as he spoke to her.
Sakura thought to herself for a moment and then told Gaara, "I don't think lunch will work since the girls are dragging me away for a spa day . . ."
Gaara's face fell as he heard her response.
"But, I could make us dinner and tell you all about the children's medical facility, if you like, that is," Sakura continued.
At this, Gaara's smile brightened. "That sounds good to me. I look forward to it."
After this brief conversation, Shikamaru changed the topic and the dinner talk lasted past the time Hinata offered everyone dessert. After the table was cleared and the dishes were washed, everyone moved into the living room and the conversations lasted well into the night.
Soon the evening had to come to a close. Shikamaru saw Temari trying to hide her yawns. He was the first to say it was time to call it a day and he offered to walk Temari back to the inn she was staying at. Temari gracefully accepted his offer and the two headed out.
Naruto nodded in Gaara's direction with a knowing smile. Gaara stood up and told Sakura, "I'll walk you to your apartment."
Sakura dipped her head in acknowledgment to his words. She thanked Naruto and Hinata for dinner and the dessert. "I had a great time and I hope we can do this again," she told them. Gaara and Sakura both said good night to their hosts and left the comfortable home.
They walked in comfortable silence until Sakura couldn't hold it in any longer, "I'm glad that you and Temari came back to Konoha and that we all could visit again. Even though I'm often busy, I do look forward to each time I get to visit with such good friends."
"Ah," Gaara responded. He didn't know what to say as he was trying to maintain his stoic facade. He knew he had a crush on her, but he was not ready to declare his feelings for her just yet. Just being close to her, opened up new emotions around him.
After years of being in the dark, he found that he enjoyed being in the light more. He kept on wanting to improve himself and make himself not just worthy of Suna, but also worthy of Sakura's companionship. If only he could find more time to spend in her presence, but the trials were going to put a dampener on that.
They finally made it to her apartment building and they stood outside her door. Sakura located her keys and unlocked the door. She turned to face Gaara to say goodbye as he was building up his courage. He suddenly grabbed her right hand and turned it palm side down. As he bent down to kiss her knuckles, he looked up through his eyelashes to see her reaction. She raised her left hand to cover her blushing smile. When she looked up to say goodnight, she saw him disappearing in his sand with a smile on his face.
Author Notes
I'm not sure yet, but this may be my longest chapter. This story will be non-cannon compliant. I will be sticking to cannon couples, though. Thanks for all the reviews.
FallenInDreams I have big plans for Matsuri. My plans, I hope, are not to use her as a punching bag. I hope you like how I plan to write her character.
Guest reviewer the time frame for this story will take place after the war as this chapter shows that Naruto and Hinata are already married.
I am still interested in acquiring a beta reader. So if anyone is interested please PM me.