Taming The Troublesome
Rating: T
Chapter Four: A Better Relationship
Hey! I'm pretty convinced that hates me. So if any of you have sent me personal messages in the past two weeks, they haven't reached me, because FF is a bitch! I couldn't log in earlier tonight… anyways, email me (email's on my profile)with any personal messages you have for me, or ones that didn't get sent. Sorry!
I've had this chapter done since Friday... grr.
Stupid won't let me upload chapters, so I stoled Oku-San's technique. I exported a chapter, edited it, and re-used it. FANKIES!
XxxxX
"The name's Sarutobi." He extended a hand towards a rather shocked Temari.
"Doesn't ring a bell." She said rather rudely.
Asuma laughed throatily, throwing his head back and closing his eyes.
'Man this guy is fucked up ' thought Temari, scowling.
When he had regained his composure, he sighed heavily. "I'm Nara Shikamaru's sensei. Asuma. And your treatment towards utter strangers further proves my assumption that you're the Kazekage's older sister, Temari."
'He likes to hear himself talk doesn't he? Asshole, I treat weird strangers how they deserve to be treated.' She thought.
So she WAS right. This man, with his rugged unkempt beard, and a compulsive smoking habit was Nara's sensei. 'I wonder how screwed up the rest of his team is…'
"Do you mind if I join you for a second?" he asked, sitting down across from her. "I've been looking for you everywhere."
"That's kind of creepy."
He laughed again.
"Yes, I'll admit, that sounded strange. But … I want to talk about the next seven days with you."
"This should be exciting." She rested her cheek in her hand and took the meat she had been cooking earlier off the barbecue. The last thing Temari of the Sand wanted was to talk about pineapple head with his sensei.
Asuma ordered his own platter of mixed meats and they sat in awkward silence for a short while. When his plate came, the silence was broken by the light sizzling of meat.
"You are here to talk to me, aren't you?" Temari found this whole situation troublesome. …Wait a second… did she just say troublesome?
Asuma appeared to have a difficult time finding where to start. "So, we are both agreed you aren't exactly the best of friends, correct?"
"Understatement of the year."
His laugh was getting on her nerves.
"I suppose that much was evident." He paused, deciding to cut to the chase, "But there's something you need to understand about that lazy-ass boy. He's the smartest man in Konoha. You, yourself should remember when he was the ONLY one to graduate the chuunin exams your first year. And then the second year, he was the one giving YOU the exam."
"Yeah, that was pretty aggravating." She agreed, not wanting to remember that.
"Well, I'll bet, seeing as neither one of you can handle authority."
"That's not-"
"Don't waste your breath. I'd be annoyed too if my little brother was the Kazekage of Suna."
Temari made a growling noise in the back of her throat.
"Don't bring him into this. HE has NOTHING to do with this."
"Oh, but he does! Gaara has everything to do with this. HE is the root of all your problems. Not poor old Shikamaru."
Temari stood up and grabbed the front of his vest roughly, his cigarette askew.
"Who do you think you are – " she thrust her face into his. "Waltzing in as though you've got me figured out. Calling my brother the source of Crybaby's goddamned attitude. I didn't ask for a physiological analysis, thank you very much." Temari wasn't thankful.
There he was again with the laugh!
"I think I must have hit a nerve."
"Damned straight."
She let go of his vest violently sitting stiffly back in her seat, tearing animalisticly at her poor barbecued meat.
Hell had no wrath like that of Suna's Tigress.
"I'm trying not to pick a fight here…" Asuma continued after a moment of straightening himself out, and chewing on a piece of beef, "But I set him up to the job of your guide."
Her eyes flashed dangerously. It sure sounded like he wanted a fight.
"And before you fly off the handle, let me tell you why. You… are one, if not THE, most difficult person for him to deal with."
"Good."
"No, but you see, he's got this idea that it's YOUR fault he can't deal with you. That it's impossible for you guys to have a nice relationship."
Temari didn't like that word. Relationship… was he trying to set the two up? DREAM ON!
"And by relationship, I mean some kind of mentality you share that doesn't exist of sarcastic and often rabid conversations."
Thinking about it for a moment, Temari realized they never really even had conversations- they were more like battles of wit.
"I know." She answered.
"But do you? He is, after all, a boy…"
"I don't have any feelings for little Nara boy, ya hear me?"
So he WAS trying to set them up… screw with her brain a little.
"What a shame, I always thought you two were perfect for each other…" he mumbled to himself.
"Hey, buster, you wanna die? My brother's the Kazekage, and-"
"Getting back on subject," Asuma interrupted, "I want to reiterate how difficult this is for him. Especially since you aren't exactly easy to interact with. But… he needs to learn that being lazy when interacting with other people, females in particular, has the exact opposite affect he hopes for."
He paused to chew.
"I want you to help him. Nobody will even notice, it can be our little secret." He smirked and put out his cigarette in the ashtray next to him. "And remember, the peace of Konoha and Suna lies in your hands."
Temari reflected on that for a moment. If she were to return a negative report, ties could dissolve between the two villages, and even war could develop. If she returned a positive report, Konoha would send a liaison over, and they'd go from there. How… interesting.
"I want you to treat this like a mission."
"Oh, so now you give me orders? I don't think so, Sarutobi."
"Asuma."
"Whatever."
Asuma paused, and lit another cigarette.
"Just out of curiosity, what did Gaara say to you just before you left?"
"Why does it matter?"
"I'm just wondering."
There was a moment of hesitation, in which Temari decided no one ever asked about her interaction with Gaara. It was sort of nice to have a haphazard confident.
"He told me to behave, and bring back an accurate report."
"Behave, eh?"
"Shut up. You don't know Gaara."
"No, you're right, I don't. But that just gave me a window into his personality."
He stood up, and dropped some money on the table.
"Well, I'd better get going, I just wanted to talk to you about your guide. I really trust that Shikamaru is capable of changing your opinion. Or maybe even I changed your opinion."
Temari shrugged. "If my opinion of Nara changed it all, it was just that now he sounds incredibly weak." She grinned evilly.
A pause.
"You're a tough woman, Temari."
She had no idea how to take that comment.
XxxxX
The next day began quietly.
Shikamaru, scared of both Temari and the Hokage's wrath, meant to arrive at the Konoha Guest building on time, but it had looked like it was going to rain, so he had gone back inside and grabbed an umbrella.
Then, of course, he only intended to sit for a short second, but ended up falling asleep on his couch. By the time he had woken up, it was 11:30, and the farmer's market was closing in an hour. "SHIT!" he cried, rushing around frantically to find his umbrella, only to find it hooked into the waistband of his pants. Casting it aside, he rushed out the door.
Villagers everywhere preformed double takes as a black streak that resembled a Nara man pelted through the town at top speed.
As Shikamaru banged up the stairs like an Akimichi on crack, the very same Konoha visitors decided to file a complaint- these damn guests were too loud!
Without even thinking about it, when he reached her room, he threw the door open. There was a quiet muffled groan coming from the bedroom. He was out of breath as a tired-looking Temari came out of the room with her hair down. Shikamaru looked up slowly. The girl was a mess, her makeup smudged, her hair in misshaped tufts, PJs, no bra under her nightshirt …
It took a second to register in his slightly distracted mind.
"Wait… you were…sleeping?"
Her eyes widened. "What time is it? Why are you in my room! Go away!" she cried feebly, trying to shield her face, and at the same time her chest. It wasn't working.
"You were SLEEPING?" he repeated, growing increasingly angry. Though, really, he was one to talk.
He needed an excuse to get mad at her ONCE in a while.
"Go away!" she cried, rushing into her room and slamming the door.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WERE SLEEPING THE WHOLE TIME!!!!!" he screamed through the door. He banged his fist through it. And then instantly regretted it when she stuck her head out. She must have seen a clock, or SOMETHING.
"I can't believe you're an hour late!" she screamed right back at him. "I'm gonna kick your ass!"
Shikamaru suddenly found a large gust of wind wedging itself into his gut and throwing him backwards.
"Bitch!" he hissed right as his back hit the wall. He quickly pulled three shuriken out of his leg weapons case and threw them at her with deadly accuracy. Two thunked into the wall by her ears and one snagged her sleeve a little.
With rage that could only come from Suna's Tigress, she swung the butt of the fan at his head, and hit the wall, plaster scuttling to odd corners of the room.
"Stop it!" The Nara boy shouted, dashing across the room. "Who's going to pay for the damages?" he hucked a kunai at her and missed completely. It hit the door frame and shivered there for a moment.
Silence.
"You know, we really should get going, the market closes in 45 minutes. Any more delay, and you'd have to stay an extra day." Shikamaru turned around to get her response, and found she had shut herself in her room. Damn troublesome woman.
He sat on the couch and waited impatiently as sounds of Temari taking a shower and quickly getting dressed drifted out into the living room. This place was pretty well furnished, with a full kitchen and what appeared to be a large master bedroom.
When she finally came out, after what seemed like hours (and was only about fifteen minutes- remarkable for a woman), he immediately grabbed her hand and dragged her out the door.
"I'm not normally - okay, NEVER - one to rush, but we really gotta go, or the whole day will go down the drain. And I'm seriously not going to prolong this mission anymore than I have to."
'Funny. He called it a mission, just like his sensei. Could we have had the same lecture?' she thought.
They rushed out of the building and outside, where their pace slowed as they got closer to the market.
"You can let go of my hand now, Nara." Temari managed to be totally deadpan. It was fun to mess with younger boys, even if it was only by a few years.
Shikamaru blushed to himself and let go of her warm hand.
Silence.
Then the bustling market came into view, late shoppers going along, not really caring if the stands were going to close soon.
Temari took out an official looking notepad and looked around. Shikamaru took his cue as she looked at the first stand they came to. He tried to remember all those facts he had memorized a few nights before.
"The Konoha market exists mostly for the promotion of local crops and crafts. Every Saturday-"
She picked up an eggplant. "What are you doing?" he asked, irked that his long speech was interrupted. He had memorized all those boring, useless facts….
"They don't have these in Suna. What is it, some kind of big plum?"
"It's an eggplant, they taste sort of like zucchini."
"Oh."
"Anyways, every Saturday, the farmers and craftsmen of Konoha gather to sell products, such as produce, like fruits ad vegetables, customized weaponry, jewelry, and sometimes even-"
Temari had stopped again and was looking at some apples. "Do you grow these here?" she asked the woman behind the stand.
Shikamaru growled. "Why don't you ask ME? I'M your guide."
"Shut up, Nara."
The woman began to tell Temari all about the process of growing apples, and how selection was very important. Temari took notes on everything the woman said, listening intently. Shikamaru turned his back to her and looked across the way at a man who made some nice-looking obsidian kunais.
He was brought out of his annoyed slump when someone tapped him on the back. "Don't get jealous or anything, Nara." Temari whispered in his ear. Wow, his hormones were on the fritz today. He couldn't even come up with a witty remark.
"I'm not jealous, idiot, I just spent a lot of time last night and the night before preparing for today. I could have told you how apples were grown, and what sort of climate they needed, etc."
"Oh could you now?"
"Yes, I could."
"Firsthand?"
"Well, no, but-"
"Now you know why I didn't ask you."
"…"
"…"
"Shut up."
"No."
She continued on down the street, occasionally picking up produce and asking what it was, because a lot of things couldn't be grown in the hot Suna climate.
Even though it was annoying, Shikamaru was mildly amused at her apparent interest in such trivial things. 'She must not get out much at home,' he thought to himself.
A sort of appreciation rose within him.
Shikamaru thought those brief moments he had to spend within 10 feet of Gaara were bad… she lived with him… no! She was RELATED to him. She had to show him love and affection even if he didn't deserve it at times. Deep down, she probably loved Gaara, but taking orders from him with an attitude like that…
So, as it turned out, he really didn't have to talk that much.
Until he heard a strangely familiar voice.
"Oh Shika-kun! You have finally come back for me!"
A body hit his rather violently, and engulfed him in a spine-shattering hug. Blonde hair… gay mentality…
...No…it couldn't be…
KANO!
And as if being hugged and then kissed by Hidden Waterfall's own Gay Shinobi wasn't bad enough, the look on Temari's face surpassed all electrical sockets and hairdryers in bathtubs within Fire Country.
"Nice."
XxxxX END OF CHAPTER XxxxX
Author's Noteh:
I know you're all sitting there groaning the same thing … 'Not an OC…'
And yes, Kano is in face an OC. But other than his involvement in the next chapter, maybe the one after that, he won't become a main character.
In case you were wondering, Kano, under special curmustances which will be explained in the next chapter has a permanent visa in Konoha. He'll help you learn about allies
And you can flame Kano all you want.
HEART! Troublesome Natto