Taming The Troublesome
Rating: T
Chapter Five: The Flip Side
Of you haven't read the author's notes up to this point, now would be the time to start, bitchez.
THIS CHAPTER TOTALLY DISREGARDS THE NARUTO OAV #2
(or whichever number it was)
However, I used the name Shibiki, because that's what they called the hidden waterfall village.
XxxxX
A long moment of boy-on-boy action (as one sided as it was) passed before the shock faded from the poor Suna Tigress.
And she felt totally betrayed by her heart as the biggest wave of jealousy possible washed over her, melting her bones, and making her chest clench painfully. A heat arose in her that she convinced herself was just anger.
Shikamaru was screwing around with boys on the job!
A few moments of struggling ensued.
And then, with just as much shock as before, Temari realized Shikamaru was helpless, evading more open-mouthed kisses from the taller blonde gay-vegetable stand owner.
She felt a little sorry for him. He was in a deep state of mental shock, and didn't appear as if he was able to move the limbs that could easily carry him away from the Konoha market.
In a sudden surge of sympathy, the kunoichi stuck the butt of her fan in between their faces. Kano reluctantly let go.
"Hey, what's up with this blonde bitch?! I didn't know you were bi Shika-chan."
"I'm not." Shikamaru spat, wiping Kano's saliva off his face and mouth.
But there was no need, for Temari had the gay shinobi by his collar.
"You wanna say that again?"
"What part? The part about Shika-chan-"
"Don't call me that!" the pissed Nara boy interjected.
"Shika-kun-"
"Call me Shikamaru, or I'll beat your ass!"
Now the blonde shinobi found himself with two angry citizens on his collar.
Kano held his hands up in front of his chest in resignation. "Hey, hey, chill! Can't a ninja have some fun around here?"
"If fun includes you shoving your tongue down Crybaby's throat, no."
"Oh, you don't care about that, you just want us to hurry up so you can go home." Shikamaru turned to the woman he was supposed to be showing around the market (which was closing up…).
Temari was caught off guard. Figures that the one time she showed sympathy towards the lazy-ass Nara, he insulted her.
She released Kano.
"Fine then, Kano, you can have him." She said loftily. "I have no use for him."
Kano was about to leap back at the love of his life, whne the back of his shirt was seized by a fish-netted hand.
"Not so fast, Kano. You don't want another warning from Tsunade, do you?"
"Oh, you ruin all my fun, Kai." He moaned, pulling a puppy dog pout that looked rather ridiculous on someone his age.
Something clicked inside Temari, as she looked up at the girl.
"Hey!" she whispered to Shikamaru, forgetting all about the fact that she was pissed off at him.
"Wasn't that the girl Jiraiya tried to marry?"
It took a second to register, but Shikamaru slowly nodded.
"Yeah, you're right, it is!" he said, scratching the back of his head, and shifting his weight backwards.
The girl in question walked up looking awkward. "Hey, sorry about all this. Kano has been a bit rabid lately."
"You have too, Kai! Don't act all innocent, Ms. Tried-to-marry-Jiraiya-sama."
Kai whipped around and shot Kano a death glare.
"HE got me drunk, and you know it. I couldn't even remember who he was!"
Temari snorted. "I'm sure. With knockers like that, who knows?"
Kai whipped around once more to face the blonde Suna Tigress.
"I wouldn't be talking." She drew close to Temari, her face still cheerful, but venom laced through her voice like veins.
"While I may have melons on my chest, I still manage to keep them there. Who knows what the state of the melons in your head are? Come on, Kano."
She whipped around, and dragged Kano off to help her take down HIS stand.
"I'll miss you, Shika Chan!" he called.
After they were out of earshot, Temari just about burst.
"BITCH PLEASE?!?" she shouted, shattering Shikamaru's eardrums. He put his hands over his ears and winced feebly.
"What the hell was up with that last comment? It didn't even make sense!" she started ranting, not even noticing that Shikamaru had walked away.
It was a few more obscenity-packed sentences, before she realized he had left her all alone with the packing villagers.
"Dammit Nara, come back here!"
XxxxX
"So what was up with that Kano dude?" Temari asked, as they sat in a lesser-known ramen stall.
"I don't want to talk about it."
There was silence.
Then a snort.
And a chuckle.
"It wasn't funny." The younger boy complained dully.
"Yes it was! You totally were participating in lip-on-lip action!"
"But not willingly! I don't like men!"
"Yeah whatever."
"Believe what you want, troublesome woman. If it elevates the fantasies you have about me every night to know I like men-"
She thwapped him on the back of the head.
"Don't finish that sentence, or I'll kick your ass into next week, Nara."
"Yeah, whatever." He mocked in a high girly voice. Mature. Very mature.
Another hit.
Silence.
"Didn't you say Kano was foreign?"
"I didn't say it, no."
"Well then, who did? I didn't know there were people from another village living in Konoha. I'm sure Gaara would like to hear this."
She added the last part as a threat, knowing this could be the secret that corked some of Konoha's dark past- if they had one, that is.
Shikamaru put his chin in his hands. "This is really annoying to have to tell you all this."
"Not troublesome?" Temari asked after a moment.
"No. Troublesome is for petty things, like you and this whole guide job."
Temari didn't even bother to whack him. This was getting pretty interesting… she ordered a bowl of Pork and Leek ramen, and sat back while he let this new enigma unfold.
XxxxX
"There's something you have to understand about Konoha. Except for certain clans making alliances with other clans and countries, there were only ever temporary agreements. They've mostly all been cut off, or like the Hyuuga clan's, ended in a bang, or murder."
"Not to say that we don't have enemies, but Konoha just doesn't ever take the huge step in trust it requires to form a peace alliance."
Temari didn't blame him, Suna hadn't always been the most trustworthy village in the world.
"However, there are some things we don't broadcast to the entire universe as well."
Temari could tell he felt uneasy telling her all this. He, after all, didn't have consent from the Hokage, and if the delicate thread of peace between Suna and Konoha was severed, it would be his fault. He could even end up exiled. She felt kind of bad threatening him.
"It's just…" he said after a long pause. "I don't want this to get back to your brother, who takes it the wrong way, and declares full-out war on Konoha."
There really wasn't anything Temari could say to console or convince him.
Yet, somehow, there must have been an almost invisible thread of trust that bound them together. Because Shikamaru decided telling one of Konoha's secrets to the Kazekage's sister would be… well… it would be okay. Maybe even enjoyable… in some sort of strictly platonic way.
"Kano, Kai, Hikaru, and a few others… they're taking refuge in Konoha." He said quietly. Two bowls of ramen were set down in front of them at the most unlucky time.
"They were born and trained in Shibiki, or Hidden Waterfall."
There was no way he could eat after dropping a bomb like that.
Temari, at first, was a bit shocked. But as she thought about it, she began to wonder what the big deal was.
"It isn't as though we're at war or anything with waterfall… it's just…"
She sighed. Again with the reluctance. He needed to work on his storytelling skills.
"Shibiki fell… and the way of Shinobi was outlawed."
Temari was shocked. First of all, she wasn't even aware Shibiki was under any sort of political stress. She had a million questions to ask, but figured they'd probably be inappropriate at a time like this.
"It sounds horrible doesn't it? The fall of a village, and then on top of it, defending your recovery of your village's still fetal state has become outlawed." He smiled sadly.
"I wasn't there, but I heard a group of young shinobi came to the previous hokage for help. I was only a little kid of course; I was at the academy at the time. Turns out Konoha is the closest safe place for them to turn to, what with all the political tension that went on."
He paused, trying to decide which details were necessary to add in, and which weren't.
"They were granted a visa, just like you, but the hokage never put expiration on it, he just gave them a pass. So technically, they're not citizens. Not now anyways. They had already had training of their own, and strived to continue it with the few interested shinobi they had brought with them to Konoha."
Shikamaru took a sip of tea.
"That was years, and years ago. Tsunade knew this when she took the post of Hokage, but I imagine she doesn't really think about it any more. Nobody ever asks."
He shrugged, and then a rare smile tickled at his features.
"You're the first one."
The smile was replaced by a groan.
"Though, it just proves how troublesome of a woman you are, you're the only one to ask a dumb enough question."
"It wasn't dumb, it was a serious matter."
"I know…"
Silence.
"So now what? I mean, what does this have to do with Kano?"
"Everything. The only still existing shinobi team of Shibiki is Kano's: Kano, Hikaru, Enkai. All the other waterfall shinobi we've taken in have decided not to pursue the idea of becoming a shinobi for another village. Wouldn't blame them, it's a fundamentally fruitless mission."
"Kano's pretty remarkable, though, most of the time, he doesn't seem it. His whole team, by Konoha standards, ranks Chunin. They've managed that all on their own, with a desire to rebuild their village."
"That's ridiculous!" Temari cried out. "It's been outlawed! A team of chunin can't take back their own country!"
"That's where your wrong, you hot headed pain-in-the-ass. They have help now. The previous hokage believed long ago, and I'm sure Tsunade does now… having Shibiki rebuilt by the best friends of Konoha is an incredibly smart idea. Ready-made alliances. It's genius."
"That's foul, Shikamaru. Konoha's tricking the poor chunin, they have no clue what they're getting themselves into!" a sudden contempt for Konoha arose within Temari. Tricking kids was not something she had ever appreciated. Enduring all that trickery shit as a child…
"Wrong again, Temari. They know EXACTLY what they're getting themselves into. They're grateful to Konoha. Who wouldn't be? They were taken in to help foster their dream, and refine their skill. Turning their back and doing nothing would be foul. On their part, not ours."
Temari suddenly understood the main motive- and that was to encourage peace with other villages. Not an alliance with a struggling village run by passionate kids.
"Wow… actually… that's really cool." She admitted slowly. "I didn't know you guys could be so friendly."
"There's a lot Suna doesn't know about Konoha. That's why you're here, isn't it?"
He gave her a mildly amused smirk. Something in the back of her stomach fluttered. She swatted at it with an electric bug zapper.
"So what does this have to do with peace alliances exactly?" she asked after a moment of swatting.
"Everything of course."
"You keep saying that, but I still don't get it."
"That's because you're a dumbass."
"Whatever. No, really, why?"
"Because it just goes to show you how honest and friendly Konoha can be."
A long silence filled the nearly-empty ramen shop.
"Yeah, but there's a flip side to that story, Nara."
"What's that?" he asked vaguely, not really caring either way.
"That Konoha can be incredibly sneaky as well."
She slid off her stool. "Thanks for the ramen, squirt."
She kissed him on the cheek and left the stand, blushing to herself.
The peck on his cheek didn't even begin to register. The Nara boy was too busy realizing the reason why Tsunade hadn't wanted him to tell the whole thing to Gaara's little birdy.
XxxxX END OF CHAPTER XxxxX
Author's Noteh:
This chapter (though it may not have seemed like it) was the longest so far. I feel speshal.
Thank you for all 38 reviews I've received up to this point, every single one gives me another reason to keep writing this story
In case you haven't noticed, I've been posting a chapter every Friday. That's because I'm like Rock Lee, and I set almost impossible deadlines for myself ;;
If you notice any grammatical or spelling errors, or ad's that are supposed to be ands, feel free to PM me. I was reading over everything last night (and noticing how often I seem to contradict myself TTTT) and decided the first 2-3 chapters are going to get a re-sweep for simple grammatical errors. The second versions should be posted sometime this weekend.
Anyways, thanks for reading! I love you all so much it hearts.
HEART!
Troublesome Natto