Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, I would have all of the anime episodes downloaded so I could make better YouTube AMVs.
A/N: Another chapter! Woohoo! I'm cutting it really close to the deadline and still have a lot more words to go. This was a fun chapter, well, not as fun as chapter 10, but still fun.
Published November 27, 2006
Chapter 11 - Messing With Other People's Business
Temari sighed in frustration. "Ugh! I have to do something! I can't just let this go!" She fiercely stood up straight from the couch. "Damn it! What the hell am I going to do?!" She put her hands on her head.
'TV…TV can solve everything.' She remembered. She took the remote and turned on her television set.
"Today on Tyra…" The TV started. (A/N: It was the second thing that popped up in my head)"…how to suppress your anger like writing a letter to yourself and beating it out in the gym."
"Psh. Whatever." Temari turned off her TV and stared at the blank screen. "Maybe I should tell Ino…hmm…nah." Temari decided. "Well…maybe…eh…" She sighed heavily. "Okay." She made up her mind. Temari stood up and went to her bedroom where there, in a corner, stood a small desk. This was Temari's 'I'm going to write a letter because Gaara made me or I have nothing better to do' desk.
"Yup, just what I need…" Temari sighed as she sat down. "Acting like the dowdy older sister…" She concluded. "…writing my day away."
So Temari wrote a letter. A pretty brief, but pleasant letter; a 'short, but sweet' letter. 'Ino will talk with me. We can chit-chat and get this whole feud over with. Then, maybe, I'll be able to get rid of my head aching frustration.'
"Hmm…when should I give this to her?" Temari asked herself. "I'm busy tomorrow…" She shrugged. "…I guess as soon as possible." She nodded. "The day after tomorrow it is."
"Now that that's over and done with, I can go out my everyday life! I have to train and kick Kankuro's ass! I can't let my little brother upstage me!" Temari competitively said. She left her apartment and quickly ran, not being seen by anyone, to the Sabaku no house to train in the backyard.
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"Ahh!" Ino stretched her arms up in the air. "Who said sleeping on the sofa was uncomfortable? I slept like a baby!" She spoke to herself.
Ino looked at her analog clock hanging from the wall. "Only 7:30? I must be using my alarm clock so much that I wake up on cue." She yawned. "Oh well. I guess I'll get up now." So Ino stood up, stretched again, and walked towards the bathroom. She took a quick pee and brushed her teeth. "Hmm…shower or no shower?" Ino smelled her armpits. "Shower." She nodded as she turned the hot water knob. Ino took a rather long shower; it lasted a little more than half-an-hour.
Once Ino was done washing up in the bathroom, she walked downstairs to eat some breakfast. "Hmm…let's see." She said as she looked inside her pantry. "Nutrigrain bar or Kashi bar?" She asked herself, tapping her chin with her index finger. "Eh, I might as well eat a bagel. Who am I going to look good for anyways?" She shrugged.
So Ino took out a cinnamon raison bagel and sat down on the kitchen counter. After taking one bite of her bagel, she thought. "Hmm…I can eat cream cheese!" Ino spoke out loud. She skipped to her fridge and took out a carton of cream cheese. "I stopped eating cream cheese for…a boy?!" She laughed out loud to herself.
Suddenly, there was a click at the door.
"Mail? This early?" She tilted her head as she jumped off of the countertop. Ino peeped her head out to see the front door. "Mail…" She shrugged. "…cool." Ino bit her bagel widely and kept it in her mouth, with more than half of it sticking out, to pick up a letter sealed in a white envelope, addressed to Yamanaka Ino.
Ino walked to her sofa and jumped down. She turned on the TV, watched a rerun of Oprah (A/N: It was the first pop-up in my head.), and continued to eat her bagel.
"Today on Oprah…" The TV sounded. "…How to keep your man by your side and ways to find out if things are working out."
"Just what I need." Ino said sarcastically, taking a big bite of her bagel. "A-ot-er e-i-ode a-out ove an aw wat ap." Ino garbled, trying to say 'Another episode about love and all that crap.' She turned off the TV and finished the last bites of her bagel.
"Now, let's see what this letter's all about." There was no return address or postage stamp. Ino shrugged. She ripped the envelope into shreds until there was nothing left in front of her other than scraps and a plain white piece of paper.
Dear Ino,
I need to talk to you. Come meet me at the corner of Conch and Coral (A/N: That was from Spongebob! Free cookies if you knew that!) at exactly 9 o'clock. I know you probably won't want to come, but I have something important to tell you. I won't be surprised if you don't come. I will be surprised if you don't come after I tell you that it's about Shikamaru. So you better come.
- Sabaku no Temari
'Temari has her own stamp?' Ino thought as she saw Temari's name at the bottom surrounded by a design of stamp markings. 'I didn't know she wrote that many letters. Well I guess being the Kazekage's daughter can give you a lot of mail to reply to.' Ino thought.
'Maybe I should go.' She thought. 'You have nothing better to do.' Her inner-self said. 'That's true.' Ino agreed.
9:00 A.M.
Ino arrived right on time as she always did and always would. 'Damn it, this better not be some kind of joke.' She thought to herself. She saw a bench nearby so she decided she might as well sit down while she waits.
"Ino! Ino! Over here!" A voice called out.
"Huh?" Ino looked around. She did not see Temari anywhere in sight. "Temari?" She asked out.
"Over here!" The voice called out again.
Ino still did not see Temari anywhere. She lifted her arms and put her hands on her hip. "Temari! This better not be some kind of joke!" Ino threatened. 'If this is a joke, for sure, she's dead! Nobody makes a fool out of Ino Yamanaka.'
"Ino." A body overshadowed Ino.
Ino gasped. "G-G-Gaara?" 'Damn, I didn't know he was this tall! Am I getting shorter or what?'
Actually, Gaara had grown taller, but he still wasn't taller than Ino. His sand from his gourd was stirring around in the background, generating a large shadow, which Ino thought was Gaara's body. Gaara had some sand under his feet, as well, to create a more dramatic effect to his presence.
"Ino Yamanaka?" Gaara asked monotonously, making sure he had the right girl.
"Uhh…yes?" Ino said, not sure if Gaara was asking a question or stating her name.
"I'm here to tal-" Gaara started.
"Gaara! We were supposed to do this secretly!" Kankuro popped up from behind a bush. "Hey, Ino." Kankuro waved quickly but turned back to Gaara. "This is not what I planned!"
"I thought your plan was stupid." Gaara stated bluntly.
"It wasn't stupid! It was dramatic!" Kankuro shouted at his younger brother.
"You're stupid. Go play with your puppets or something. I'll deal with Ino." Gaara commanded.
"But Gaara! I want to help too!" Kankuro whined like a baby.
Gaara's sand started to encircle Kankuro.
"Well, see you at home, Gaara!" Kankuro said quickly before he turned around and ran at a lightning speed back to his Konoha home.
"So, Ino Yamanaka. I remember you." Gaara declared.
Ino started to sweat. 'Damn it. I should've stayed home today.' She thought. 'I should've known Temari wouldn't write a letter like that. 'I need to talk to you.' Oh how I easily fell for that one.'
"Do you know why I'm here?" Gaara asked.
"Umm…not really." Ino said nervously.
"Temari is my sister." Gaara stated.
Ino nodded. 'I know that! I'm not stupid.'
"I may be her younger brother but I will protect her no matter what." Gaara confirmed.
'Wow. I didn't know Gaara was so…brotherly.' Ino thought. She nodded.
"I know you won't hurt her. But I think Shikamaru will hurt her."
"Then why are you talking to me? Shouldn't you speak with Shikamaru?" Ino asked.
"No." Gaara sat down next to Ino, but didn't look at her. "That's not what I mean. I know Shikamaru won't choose Temari."
"W-What?" Ino was shocked and her heart almost stopped. "H-How can you say that? Don't you think your sister has a chance?"
"No." Gaara answered plainly. "She doesn't."
'How could someone be so cold? I thought he changed?' Ino thought in her head.
"It's best if you date Shikamaru." Gaara spoke.
"But, why?" Ino asked confused about everything Gaara had said.
"Temari wants Shikamaru. She'll do anything to get him away from you. She doesn't like you." Gaara stated.
"I know that. I'm not stupid." Ino muttered with her arms crossed. 'Why does everyone assume that I'm the stereotypical dumb blonde?'
"Hn." Gaara heard Ino. "I know you're not stupid. I am just stating my reason is all." Gaara clarified. "Temari's been very…distracted lately due to this Shikamaru problem. It's interfering with her training. She lost to Kankuro a couple days ago."
"That bad?" Ino looked almost worried. 'That's pretty sad.' (A/N: Gomen (sorry) if you're a big Kankuro fan. I love Kankuro too! But it's so easy to make fun of him!)
Gaara nodded. "If she is like this without Shikamaru, I do not want to have to see her with Shikamaru. It may be more chaotic and distracting." He explained.
"But what do you want me to do about it?" Ino asked, still a little confused about this whole situation she was in.
"Shikamaru is having a hard time choosing a girl. I think you need to persuade him to you rather than Temari." Gaara insisted. "It would be best…for everyone." He added. "You may have already been trying to do that, but this time, you have a greater goal at hand. You have to convince Shikamaru or else…all is lost."
'All is lost? What the heck is that supposed to mean?! Does he have to be so dramatic about all of this?!' Ino nodded as she sighed. "Okay." 'But I don't like Shikamaru that way anymore! Temari can handle him! Why can't Gaara see this?!'
"Good. I am glad you see it my way." Gaara responded as he stood up.
"Heh, yeah." Ino said nervously, trying to act as casual to Gaara as possible. "So, the letter that I got to come here, wasn't Temari, but you and Kankuro?"
"No. It was Temari." Gaara stated honestly without hesitation. "She wants to meet with you. Kankuro and I took it out of her stationary, at her apartment, while she was out. It gave Kankuro the idea to meet with you, so we copied the writing word for word and even used her personal stamp. So you will be getting a letter sometime tomorrow to meet with her."
"Oh." Ino said surprised. "Well, okay. I guess I'll see you later?" Ino said politely. 'I hope not.'
"Hn. Whatever." Gaara said rudely without knowing it.
"Yeah. Well, bye!" Ino waved as she walked in the opposite direction back to her house. 'Well this has to be oddest morning I've ever had.' She thought to herself. 'You have got that right!' Her inner-self agreed fully.
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One day later…
"Well, it had to come sometime." Ino said slightly disappointedly as she walked towards the door where a small envelope lay. She picked it up and walked back to the sofa just as she did the day before.
"Is this déjà vu or is it just me?" Ino asked herself, sarcastically, out loud. 'It says the same thing. Why should I even open it?"' Ino asked herself in her head. "Hmmm…" 'Maybe it says something different, or at least slightly different. Maybe Gaara was lying about copying Temari's letter and just wrote a totally different letter. Am I asking too many questions to myself?' She asked herself. 'Yes, you are.' Her inner-self answered. 'Just making sure.' She responded to her inner-self.
'Just open it! You might as well! Or else you'll regret it for a really long time and you don't want to do that now, do you?" Her inner-self spoke once again. 'No, I guess you're right. I'm not a lazy-ass like Shikamaru.' Ino agreed. She ripped open her letter just as she did the day before.
"Here we go." Ino unfolded a light lavender colored paper. She read over it. "Speh, speh, speh, speh…" She mumbled as she skimmed over the writing. 'Same thing.' She was slightly disappointed but not too surprised. 'Gaara wouldn't lie. He has no reason to.'
"I guess I should leave now." Ino said. She walked out of her house and back to Konoha Park…back to remembering yesterday. "You have to convince Shikamaru or else…all is lost…convince Shikamaru or else…all is lost….or else…all is lost…all is lost…all is lost…" Ino's mind repeated and overlapped over and over as she remembered Gaara's words precisely.
"Ino…" A voice oh-so familiar called out as a figure walked towards Ino. "…you came?" Temari asked rhetorically.
"Well, yeah, or else I wouldn't be here right now." Ino answered a little rudely.
Temari crossed her arms. "I was being rhetorical." Temari muttered.
"No, really? I hadn't noticed." Ino said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
Both girls giggled a little.
"I thought this would be much more awkward." Temari sighed thankfully.
Ino giggled again. "Heh, yeah. Well, I kind of thought this would be coming."
"Huh?" Temari raised an eyebrow.
Ino waved her hand in front of herself and I swear you could see an anime water drop on the back of her head. "Oh, nothing. Uhh…so, yeah, what did you want to talk about? Something about Shikamaru, right?" She tried ever-so hard to change the subject.
"Oh, yeah. About that…well, I don't really know how to say this but…" Temari breathed in and out slowly and deeply. "…I don't want Shikamaru anymore."
Ino gasped as loud and dramatically as possible. It's like she had just seen a drunk ghost standing on top of a bar counter singing karaoke with Kiba, Naruto, and Rock Lee. "NANI (WHAT)?!" Ino was as shocked as ever. 'Are we like twins or something?! I thought she liked him! She suddenly says she doesn't right after I decide that I don't like him!'
"Umm…Ino?" Temari tried to get her attention. "Hello! Earth to Ino!" She waved her hand in Ino's face.
Ino shut her eyes tightly and shook her head. "Oh, yeah."
"What happened? You just blanked out on me." Temari asked.
"I'm just a little…surprised. That's all." Ino smiled. "I just didn't expect you to say that." 'Yeah, definitely didn't expect that. Yesterday, Gaara said Temari liked Shikamaru…a lot. And today it's all opposite? What the heck happened?!"
"Well…I guess you're happy now, right?" Temari said with a small, barely noticeable, frown.
Ino looked down at her feet and the ground. "Actually…I'm not."
Temari looked dumbfounded at Ino.
Ino smirked, though Temari couldn't tell. "You would think I would be cheering and laughing my ass off and laughing at you even more. I would think that too." She chuckled and smirked even more. "But, you see, that's not true." She looked up at Temari. "I thought about what we said to each other but more importantly, I thought about my relationship with Shikamaru. I came to a realization that…" She laughed as she said her next words. "I don't like Shikamaru that way either."
"NANI (WHAT)?! Are you serious?!" Temari asked. 'Is she playing a joke on me or something? Maybe we really are two of a kind.'
"Totally serious." Ino said truthfully.
"But…" Temari started but not finishing her sentences. She was not able to think about what to say next.
"Yup…" Ino already answered.
"How did…" Temari slurred.
"I know." Ino agreed to whatever Temari was going to say.
"So you…" Temari said casually.
"Exactly."
"And he…" Temari said in her normal voice.
"Uh-huh."
"That's means that…" Temari's eyes started to widen.
"Sad, but true." Ino shook her head.
"Oh, shit." Temari said.
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"We should've sat down before." Ino told Temari.
"Definitely." Temari nodded in agreement.
"So, I guess we really are alike." Ino pointed out.
"More than we'll ever know." Temari added.
"You know, we could've been good friends." Ino thought about it.
"Could've been? We can be good friends right now!" Temari corrected.
"Heh, you're right. I mean, we were fighting for what, a guy?" Ino sided.
"I know. And it was Shikamaru of all guys!" Temari chuckled.
Ino giggled as well. "Yeah. I could've gone out with Naruto!" She continued to laugh.
"And I could've gone out with Kiba!" Temari also continued to laugh.
Ino stopped laughing once she noticed something. "Oh my Kami, I could've gone out with Sasuke!"
Temari stopped laughing as well once she heard Ino. "A-And…Oh my Kami! I could've gone out with Neji!"
"We could have dated the two hottest guys in Konoha. (A/N: I don't like Sasuke, but you do have to agree, he is pretty hot.)
"Well, that's a bummer!" Ino pouted as she slugged her back on the bench.
"Yeah…there are so many guys we could have dated. Oh my Kami! I just realized the saddest part is…sadder than waiting for Shikamaru…even sadder than not dating Sasuke and Neji…but…we're still…" Temari frowned.
"…virgins…" Both girls said as softly as they could. They didn't want anyone passing by to hear their secret.
"Awww, man! That sucks!" Ino whined.
"More for me than you! You're still young; you're only 16. I'm 19. I'm a whole three years older than you, yet we have the same amount of experience…zippo." Temari made an 'O' shape with her right hand. (A/N: Okay, so being a virgin at that age isn't a big deal to a normal person, but for a ninja, let's just say it is…you know, I've said it before, with all the 'you could die on a mission any day' kind of thing. You get the picture.)
"True." Ino agreed almost rudely.
"You're not supposed to say that! You're supposed to say…" Temari couldn't think of something Ino should say in place of that. "…well, something else!"
"I'm just speaking honestly!" Ino retorted.
"Ugh!"
"Ugh!"
Temari frowned. "We have sad lives."
"That's definitely true!" Ino nodded.
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"Well, I guess I'll…see you later?" Ino unsurely said.
"Umm…yes? I guess." Temari shrugged. "Whatever. Sayonara!"
"Sayonara, Temari!"
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A/N: There's going to be a part two to this, so watch for it! I hope I can finish the 50,000 words by Thursday, though I highly doubt it. Hopefully I don't get too much homework or I can copy off someone else!