Alright everyone, ya'll got your Shika-Tema but now it's time to get down to the real romance here. Am I right? xD Kidding...

Rated E for Everyone has AIDS! :D


"And so then what happened?" The young woman with the large brown eyes asked, seemingly entranced by the man. Her heart racing as she leaned in closer to him to listen to every word. Watching his calm eyes as he gave her a lazy smile, the man entertained by how interested she was in his tale. He could even see the figure following behind her lean into their space closer, trying to hear what would happen next as well.

Clearing his throat the young man continued, "The girl awoke the next morning, her fears all fading away when the sun shined through her window. Her parents would be home soon so she went to the restroom to wash up. As she moved the curtains for her bath she saw a gruesome sight. Her dog was mutilated before her and writing was found above the body in blood. It was written as 'Humans can lick too.'"

Gulping down something in her throat, Tenten felt a cold shiver down her spine as she backed away and let the thought of the story sink into her mind. "That was sad and downright spooky! Who was it that killed her dog?" In response, Hanbei only shrugged and muttered "No one knows," which made Tenten hug herself for momentary comfort. She may have been a ninja, trained hard in the arts of all sorts of battle but some urban legends always seemed sneak into her heart and give her a touch of fear for what goes bump in the night.

The group of young adults were under the sakura trees which were beginning to drop their petals to the ground. Tenten was sporting a Kimono which was white and gradually faded to pink the further it went down with light blue butterflies flowing all around. Her Obi was of a pinkish purple color that tied snugly against her figure. Her hair was let down today, they had straightened it from it's natural wavy length. The only accessory she wore was the silver clip Gaara had given her the day before which was used to make sure her hair did not get all over her face and touch the splashes of white and pink make up.

Beside Tenten was Hanbei who stretched his body out before laying down on his back, watching the trees sway when the gentle breezed rolled by. Masanori wouldn't admit it ever, but deep down, the story scared him too and he knew he'd lie awake at night. Kiyomasa was leaning against one of the trees, his eyes watching his small tiger play with the petals that fell, oblivious to the spooky tale as his mind was wrapped around the precious tiger cub and of course Nene. Mitsunari looked calm as he used his tassen to fan himself, knowing the story was just a legend and wouldn't ever get the best of his imagination.

Gaara stood back as he looked at the group from a few yards away. He had never heard such stories before so he was unsure if these things happened more than a few times to real people. Legend or no, someone must have experienced something of the sort right? Or someone had a sadistic imagination, which was not completely impossible by his own first hand knowledge. The redhead leaned back to a more normal upright position now that the story had ended. Walking around the calm group which were laughing blissfully around Tenten. He felt no hostilities towards them, they all seemed to welcome her with open arms, treating her like a sister when workers were not around and held her with more respect than needed when they weren't alone. Though they hardly bothered with Gaara himself, they gave him warm smiles and treated him as an equal. He liked that. No title he held smeared any possible friendship or even an alliance with these people. When Tenten laughed, Gaara looked over at her to see her holding her stomach at something Mitsunari told Masanori who attempted to give him a fist to the face but instead hit the tree.

A sudden rush of wind stopped them all in their tracks, the jovial mood ending and all turning quiet as Nene appeared before them. She looked disheveled worried as she approached the group. Gaara was ever ready for the possibility of an enemy attack but he relaxed when Nene only grabbed Hanbei by the shoulders and shook him erratically. "He's early! He's almost here! He's too early!"

"Who was coming early? Nobunaga?" Tenten was confused at what was going on and she could see Gaara was in the same boat as her. Never had she seen Nene so... hectic.

"Calm down. We just have to improvise this whole situation. Fool Trio," Hanbei began as he looked at the three brothers who glared at the name, "Go and meet up with Kanbei. I'm sure he'll want you guys to stall him before he gets inside to meet her." They nodded at him and left them behind but not before Masanori gave Hanbei the finger for calling him a fool. "Go let Hideyoshi know about the situation Nene, if you already haven't, and tell him to meet us in the throne room." Nene nodded and gave him a motherly smile, no longer looking as bad as she did moments ago as she went to find her husband. "Gaara and Tenten, you follow me." His eyes darted left then right quickly before closing them. "Hanzo, I need your assistance for a moment."

Both Tenten and Gaara waited for a moment, however no one appeared in front of Hanbei. Soon after though they saw how he looked over at Gaara and smiled. "There you are," he said casually. They followed his gaze to look behind Gaara where a tall man stood, arms crossed and emotionless. He said nothing to Hanbei but the young man knew better than to expect anything out of his mouth. "Can you go and inspect them? They are early and we don't know if it could be a trap. Thank you." The man dressed in old traditional ninja clothing, pulled back long hair and wearing an eternal expressionless face nodded before disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"So that was Hanzo," thought Gaara as he saw the man disappear to inspect whoever it was that had arrived. "Seems like an exceptional ninja. I wouldn't mind sparring with him one day."


The throne room was silent and empty when they entered. There were several large seats which belonged to Nobunaga and his honored family. Tenten sat down, resting her feet as she watched Hanbei and Gaara speak to one another. She couldn't hear what they were talking about but once Gaara nodded, Hanbei went to her and sighed. "Okay so someone is coming here, someone meant for the real Tokuhime to meet but he's early. I don't know why he is but we're checking to see if it's some sort of trap laid out by our enemy. If it's not, then we're in bigger trouble."

"Who is it exactly?" Tenten asked, trying to brace herself for who it was that was causing so much fuss.

Hanbei looked down for a moment before groaning a bit in frustration, "It's Chosokabe Motochika, the leader of the Chosokabe clan. He rules Shikoku Island has been asked to be one of the people Tokuhime chooses as a suitor."

That was when Tenten felt her heart sink the moment he said suitor. She may not understand why they were freaking out as bad as they were, but she knew why she herself was beginning to feel like the whole room was getting smaller and her breathing felt faint. Suitor?! Marriage?! She didn't want to get married in Tokuhime's place! That was not in the job description, right?! Otherwise Gaara would of mentioned it... right?

Looking over at Gaara, Tenten was too confused and freaked out to see he was not in his casual "Hn" mood. If she paid the slightest attention, she would of noticed his shoulders stiffen up, his usual cool eyes showing a bit of a flare. His crossed arms were gripping a bit too tightly at his sleeves as he gulped down something hard in his throat. Even with all those signs that was shown, all Tenten was able to see was slight confusion in his face. Confused as to why he felt all these strange emotions from that one sentence.

Noticing the apparent fear strike up in her eyes, Hanbei only smiled as he tried to relieve the stress that was heavy in the air. Putting his arms up to stretch he simply laughed a bit, "I said he was one of the suitors. I didn't say you were going to marry the guy. I think you need to get your hearing checked when this is all over." When he saw her ease at his words he continued on but without the smile. "Though this will complicate things greatly. He was meant to arrive when Tokuhime was supposed to be around so we could try and create an alliance between the two nations. Since the real princess isn't here, you're going to have to stall things for us." Walking to her side, Hanbei yawned a little before sitting down on the steps that lead to the seating meant for the royalty he so obviously respected. "I trust in you to know what you're doing. We can't be at your side to coach you at all times. So I'll try and give you hints now and then. Don't lead him into thinking you're interested but don't push him away either. We don't know if the real princess would find him to be her type or not. She changes her mind significantly when it comes to a lot of things. Keep that in mind as well, it could be a useful tool for you. Try and keep him guessing. And if you don't know what the princess would say, just make it up!"

At that moment, the door opened and Nene appeared before them. She looked up at Hanbei who nodded his head to her before reluctantly standing up to get off the steps. He ushered Gaara to follow him to the back wall as they watched Nene and Hideyoshi open the large doors completely. Clearing her throat, Nene spoke up in her usual motherly tone, "I would like to introduce you to Chosokabe Motochika of Shikoku Island and his guard, Saika Magoichi. Princess Tokuhime, we leave him in your care." The shadowed figure came inside and the light from the open door dimmed as the couple closed the doors and stood back to show Tenten the two males who she was meant to stay with for a time in the castle.

He was indeed handsome though he looked more like some rock star than a prince. She could guess he was about 5'11, with lightly tanned skin and what looked like a muscular build. His hair was black aside from the white highlights that hid half his face. His right eye was visible which Tenten could observe showed a steel gray color. His cheek under his eye had a tattoo of a light blue path of what looked like a flame. His torso too had the flaming design which barely hid under the white and blue furred boa he had on as well as his blue haori which was torn up at the waist. He wore one black leather glove that ended just before the elbow while the other went high up to his shoulder guard. Black haidate with black pants underneath all the while his black boots had golden designs around over the pants. If Tenten had seen him casually walking around the streets, she'd have never pegged him as a royal anything.

He bowed gracefully, a smile perched upon his face as he did. "I am honored to meet you, Lady Tokuhime. I hope we will get to know one another during our stay. I'd like to apologize for coming so early. We were not delayed for a single moment like we had expected."

"Oh I'm sure they don't mind! Now the princess here seems to be more beautiful than word of mouth!" The other male said aloud with a laugh, causing Motochika to stand straight back up with a chuckle. "No formal introduction for me, I'm just the one and only Saika Magoichi. I'm sure you heard of the Crows of Saika?"

This Saika Magoichi looked very dashing and charismatic. From Tenten's first impression, he seemed like the type of guy to go into any situation with a cool head and smile and leave exactly same way. Wearing a dark green trench coat with silver hemlines and a golden insignia stitched on the top left corner of torso. It seemed as if he wore a rusty red shirt underneath and light brown pants with gray boots. His skin was a shade or two darker than Motochika and his dark brown hair was short and slicked back to reveal a friendly face.

"Come now, Saika! I'm sure she doesn't want to hear of it. I hope we did not intrude on anything you had planned for yourself, my Lady."

"I doubt nothing was going on, now then! If this lovely young lady may direct us to where we'll be staying..." Magoichi smiled at Nene who only laughed a bit before staring at Tenten with a nod.

Tenten couldn't help but smile at the two men despite feeling the jitters within. They seemed friendly enough to her and Motochika was a charming man thus far. She had to admit, Tokuhime was a bit of a lucky woman to have such handsome men come to court her and she was able to choose whichever suitor she wanted.

"I am honored to have you in my home. I hope you enjoy your stay here," Tenten said with a bow before walking down the steps, away from line of thrones. Motochika walked to her and took her hand with a gentle grip, lifted her hand to his face and lightly skimmed his lips against her knuckles. Tenten felt a bit of warmth flush over her face for a split second. His eyes were intense and she was intrigued by his style so far, she was only saddened that this friendship would be based on lies.

From the back, Gaara merely stood there and watched with no expression. Or so he forced anyway onto his face, trying to hide whatever confusion he felt. This strange feeling within him was becoming a little too overwhelming to have to endure. It was new and something he didn't care to have clouding his judgement. To see a man get close to her, touch her, kiss her sparked a fire withing his belly. He felt anger swell up and yet he had no justification for it. This anger he could will away but regardless there he stood, staring at her smile from afar. All but yearning to take this Motochika and crushing him in a tome of sand. Sadistic imaginations indeed, it reminded Gaara of his turbulent youth. Best to quell that feeling.


It was late in the day, the sun was coming down slowly but that didn't stop the pair from having a trip around the castle grounds. They spoke little of politics and even less of themselves. Tenten unsure of what the princess would say and Motochika unaware of what would be too personal a topic for this girl. He had heard many rumors that the princess was ruthless one minute and sweet the next. He did not want to face any terrible fate of the hands of Nobunaga Oda because of some mishap with his daughter.

Seasonal birds that were migrating through the path chirped and sung their last songs for the day, all the while Gaara remained in the shadows. Far enough back to give them space but close enough to come to her side if the situation required it. All she needed to do was call for him. Gaara knew the three of them were not alone either. Somewhere in the shadows, Hanzo remained hidden in silence along with Nene and her gang running about the property, performing patrols to make sure all was safe. Tokuhime... Tenten was certainly safe here yet it did not ease his feelings of uneasiness and even anger for the man who stood beside her. Before he could think of any reason for such alien feelings, he heard a loud yawn coming from behind him.

Saika was like none Gaara had ever really seen before. Not once has he felt hostilities from this man. He kept a cool and casual demeanor but nothing like a facade to lure the enemy into a false sense of security. Unlike his brother who would often act causal and relaxed but was ready to go on the defensive in a heart beat. Instead this man didn't seem the type and would rather much try to talk it out than fight no matter who it was with. Gaara did not know what to really think of this man. He seemed less inclined to action than even Shikamaru.

Saika walked over to the Kazegake with no intimidation in his posture. Heck, he'd never even heard of this man to have an opinion of him to try and impress. Most of Saika's interest were spent on women, his team, work, women and then women. Regardless though he could feel just how strong this redheaded foreigner was from just standing beside him and could guess he was nothing to sneeze at. Despite his better judgement, he wrapped an arm around Gaara and pulled him close to try and loosen the tension, "Ahh, look at that!" He could feel the man beginning to move away from his grasp and thankfully Saika let go of the Kazegake before blood would be spilled. "Young love will never grow more fonder! Just imagine how prosperous the land would be to see the two wed under the rising sun. Though I never pegged Motochika as a husband type." Closing his eyes, Saika began to speak from the past. "I would often see him with many young women and many older women as well. He has a way with his words and an even better way with making a gal feel special. Was surprising when he told me he wanted to settle down. But I can see why just looking at him. He wants love, not flings. I hope with Tokuhime he can..." Saika stopped talking, noticing the other male was on the move. Opening his eyes, he looked over toward where the couple once stood he noticed them already out of his view. A small smile worked over his lips as he watched Gaara leave on with them. "All's fair in love and war, as it goes."


Tenten had watched Motochika from the corner of her eye whenever she thought he wasn't looking. She was trying hard to discover what this man wanted to hear from her. No, not her, from the princess. One wrong slip could end this possible relationship or create one in which the princess may not want. Wanting to sigh, Tenten simply turned to look over at Gaara who remained hidden in plain sight. Looking into his eyes, she could see something unfamiliar to her and it seemed to place him on edge. Maybe he was worried for her being in this situation with a suitor and how stressful it must have been on her? She smiled at him, reassuring him she was alright. He returned a smile which lifted her spirits a bit. She would be okay and she'd do her best. Not just for her own sake but for her friend as well.

"Tell me Princess, do you enjoy riding on horseback?"

Tenten didn't speak for a moment, trying to gather the right answer but played it off as if she were merely toying with her hair, "It is fun to ride on such large beasts, to feel the wind hitting your face and feeling no strings to hold you back." Whether or not the princess really felt that way was all a ruse and after remembering Hanbei's words of the princess often changing her mind she added, "That is... When I feel the need to ride horses. Sometimes I feel much better to be in a carriage than on one of those creatures." Making this up as she went was going to be harder than she thought possible. But when she saw Motochika smile at her response, she felt like she was doing fine.

Both of them were making their way towards the garden area that they had on the grounds. Tenten thought that maybe coming here and "smelling the roses" would make time move by quickly so that she wouldn't put herself in deeper water than she was already. Motochika followed without hesitance or boredom on his face so she hoped that meant he was entertained by her. Still though, such a handsome young man with a girl looking as plain as she did under the face gunk had Tenten wonder if he was simply looking for an alliance or real love? Tenten never thought of herself ugly but beautiful was a word she would never use to describe herself. Hearing his voice made her turn to view his eyes which reminded her of steel. Seeing those eyes brought a feeling of longing within her; she missed her weapons.

"I understand your meaning. I do love to feel the wind moving right past me, the way you can ride forever without anyone holding you back. Even to just sit back in a seat when you're tired and lazy to get up and ride it yourself is a good idea." The Prince laughed gently when he saw Tokuhime smile when he agreed. This girl was becoming interesting to him. When he first struck up the thought of marrying Nobunaga's daughter he thought she'd be ugly on the inside and out like her father. From all the rumors he'd heard she was a vile viper who would slit your throat when you fell asleep if she found you even a bit distasteful. But when he saw the look in the young woman's eyes he saw no wickedness or malice. Instead there was a beauty within a shaking uncertainty, he wanted to get to know her deeper the more he spoke with her. He was curios and interested to learn of her likes and dislikes, to see if they can become better compatible if and when they would be wed. He would not deny that he felt a small spark of hope at the thought of having her at his side.

Although he had the feeling the red headed bodyguard did not care for him in the slightest. He didn't know that there was going to be so much security for just this one young girl. He didn't mind most of them, the kunoichi named Nene and the boys with her seemed normal enough all things considered. The general Motochika had heard of from legends on the battlefield was named Hideyoshi and he was very welcoming to him. It was just the red-headed foreigner who watched him with cold, calculating eyes. Beneath them was a fire he could see that ignited when their gazes met. Motochika was unsure of who the man was so he pawned it off, just believing this was how the man must normally behave with strangers.

The pair stopped at the entrance to the garden, Motochika bowed his head a bit with a smile and said, "M'lady..." Motioning her to go first. When she made her way in, he followed suit and noticed the body guard follow their lead. Tenten was happy for the fact that Gaara remained nearby. She didn't feel comfortable to be left to her own devices and it was reassuring that his presence was around, as odd of a feeling as it was for him to be this close. She lifted a hand to her hair and gently stroked the hair clip Gaara had given her, she would treasure this gift dearly and would depend on it if something terrible would happen during this mission.

Tenten was a bit surprised at the garden's variation but she tried her best not to show it. This was supposed to be garden she'd visited many times before and to show confusion might cause some suspicion with the prince. Flowers, bushes and trees she'd never seen before were all laid out in a decorative pattern which was admittedly a wonderful sight to see. There were exotic plants here which Tenten recognized that the Yamanaka family shop had tended to before with great expense, growing impressively massive in number and size. Tenten kept an eye on Motochika, who was thankfully looking at some of the exotic flora instead of her. She began to wondered if Gaara had seen any of these flowers around his land. She sure as heck never did but at the same time she rarely ever looked out for flowers in the field. They were beautiful and something about them made her feel relaxed. "If Ino ever heard me say that aloud, she'd probably make me get flowers with her and go shopping so I could get in touch with my out of touch 'girly side.' I'll be damned if I let that happen." She wondered if Gaara liked flowers, he didn't seem the type but everyone had a personal favorite even if they didn't care for them. She'd like to know if one day something would happen where she'd need to get him a bouquet. Maybe his birthday... "When was his birthday?" Tenten asked herself in a whisper.

"Princess Tokuhime? Is there something on my face?"

Tenten turned a slight shade of pink but it remained hidden behind the mask of white paint over her face. She hadn't realized she was staring Motochika's direction the entire time she was thinking of Gaara and Ino's stupid idea that never happened... And Gaara. Shaking her head, she turned away quickly, feeling flustered from staring at him. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking of... my favorite flower?" She wanted to hit herself for such a stupid response. But she only saw him lightly chuckle while he grazed a flower gently with his finger.

"Oh? What about your favorite flower?" He stopped touching the flower and went over at her side, noticing she was standing by some of the more exotic flowers. Being surrounded by them she couldn't help but feel she was out of place. Such beautiful things didn't suit her.

Tenten looked down at her feet, wondering what the princess would say. She didn't know, she didn't want to answer but he was waiting for her to say something. She couldn't come off as uncaring, it might put him off. She noticed a flower that was different from the rest. All around were flowers that only high spenders would choose, yet there remained a single red tulip sprouting from the ground. Looking at it further it somehow seemed to stand out more than the others.

"A tulip," she said to him. Leaning down to it, she touched the flower with her hand before smiling. "A tulip is plain but that doesn't make it any less special. They are not too elegant, too romantic, too big, too small, or too bright. It doesn't need extra attention and no one expects anything of them, but even then you can see their beauty stand out on their own. Even surrounded by bigger and better looking flowers, they always seem to shine." Turning to face the prince, she laughed lightly, "Pretty silly, huh?" He didn't say anything but shook his head with a smile to her as he helped her get to her feet.

As they continued down the path, Gaara walked over to where Tenten once stood and stared down at the lonely red tulip. He had heard her reaction to the man's question and knew it was all sincere. Her voice hid nothing and for some reason, Gaara felt that she was talking about herself just as much as the flower. To him, Tenten not only shined as a kunoichi but as something more. Though he didn't allow himself to dwell on it, instead determining it must be respect for another ninja's skills. Though that thought left no gratification in his heart. Continuing further he left the tulip where it belonged amongst the exotic plants and shining flowers Gaara returned to where he belonged, guarding over Tenten amongst the royalty and beautiful people.


Artists Note:: Sorry for such a long delay. Been going to work and college has been all over my ass. :3 Thank you for your patience and support. ^ o ^

Please give me some reviews if you want too.