The Life and Times of the Kazekage's Assistant
Disclaimer:I don't own Naruto. This story is inspired by a novel by Lauren Weisberger. I do, however, own Imamura Tsubasa, Tenchi Hoshiro, Suzuki Sorachi, Sendo Kanoka, and Kawasaki Tazuna, any other Ocs and the plot.
Author's Note:This chapter focuses more on my OC Tsubasa Imamura and then it goes into the point where she first interviews to become the Kazekage's Assistant.
Also, please don't think that I dislike Temari in any way. She's actually one of my favorite characters, but I've made her rather bitchy for entertainment purposes in the story. Matsuri is perhaps the most out of character in this story, but it's mostly for giggles. I hope no one minds too much.
Chapter Two: The Job A Million Girls Would Kill For
I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into when I went for an interview to become the Kazekage's assistant. It was said that I needed the approval of him, as well as his two siblings' approval and the approval of the council, to become the Kazekage's assistant. It was a tough job to land, and it was the job that a million girls would have fought each other to the death for (which by what the council referred to as a 'tragic incident' that wasn't to be spoken of or brought up in a conversation within Sand Castle). I had no inclination whatsoever that Temari, the Kazekage's eldest sibling, an attractive self-made woman, was a wolf in sheep's clothing (and that was putting it very, very lightly). The woman was the devil.
My life, until this point, had been the basic life any kunoichi had. My entire existence up 'til now had been totally clichéd repeated by many kunoichi in an endless cycle that had dominated over us as an unwritten universal law. I grew up in Suna by two caring parents. They had taken wonderful care of me and had brought me up properly, but like any ninja's parents, they had died in the call of duty, leaving me alone in the world. I got through it all; alone. I graduated from the ninja academy with flying colors and at the top of my class. It was my goal in life to be a council member, so I could one day create a program in which children who lost their parents to the countless missions given to them by the Kazekage in an attempt to bring honor to the Sand Village would have foster parents or caretakers. That way, they would never be alone like I was growing up. Though being a council member was esoteric beyond belief and unpopular, it was what I had chosen to pursue and I would do it. I had involved myself in any extracurricular activities that I could involve myself in, signed myself up for charities and fundraising, taken summer courses and internships to discipline myself and to learn, and had trained mind-numbingly to improve my ninja skill. I had even entered speech contests, in which I won, to prepare me for becoming a highly esteemed council member.
One summer when I was thirteen, I had allowed myself a month's vacation time and headed for Konohagakure. It was a nice village with great shopping. It was all too nice to be out of the desert heat and into the Leaf Village's breeze. I had made friends with the most interesting shinobi there, but one boy stood out to me (excluding the hyperactive, orange jumpsuit wearing shinobi, Uzumaki Naruto). That boy was Inuzuka Kiba. He was charming from day one with his wolfish grin, cute chuckle, and adorable puppy Akamaru. We had taken a liking to each other right away, and even though I would be gone at the end of the month, he asked me to be his girlfriend.
We dated for four long and happy years. We had talked obsessively over our future together. He was so excited to become a Jounin one day and become a sensei to graduating ninjas from the Konoha Ninja Academy. My plans were a bit different. I would be a strong and highly esteemed council member. Although I knew I would be around age twenty five before I became a council member (that was the least amount of years I had to be to qualify as a council member), I was an avid pursuer of my dream and wouldn't let anyone get in the way of my goal.
Kiba and I had discussed the fact that our lives would be taking separate paths from one another. We were embarking onto a journey going into two opposite directions. He wanted to be a sensei in Konoha and I wanted to be a councilwoman in Suna. Last summer, before I received the job a million girls would have fought each other to the death for, we spent a month together. That month was the test for us to see who would bend to the other's goal. I had made the fatal mistake by telling Kiba that my dream was much more important than his (even though I still think it is). We had made up with one another by the end of the month (we had spent a very romantic last weekend together).
But nothing ends a romance like the strain of a long distance relationship. I had hastily gone back to Konoha for a week to beg Kiba not to leave me. He had taken me by the hand and embraced me. At that moment I felt secure, that is until he pulled away, said it was over, and ended it with, "Stay beautiful."
It took a month of moping and alternating between refusing food and eating my feelings in ice cream before I snapped out of my nearly chronic depression. My wonderful teammate Sorachi, who had lost both her parents to a fatal bite from the desert asp, allowed me to stay with her in her apartment for that time. Sorachi and my other teammate Hoshiro had pulled me aside from my almost empty tub of ice cream, threw me into a cold shower and then literally forced me to wake up and smell the coffee. She waved the mug of coffee in my face, told me to clean up my act because she was throwing me out (for my own good), and sending me back out into the real world. My first reaction was to argue with her but I had reluctantly accepted the delicious smelling coffee and drank it. She was right though, it had woken me up. The next morning I was back on my feet, cleaned up, and ready for the world.
I surrounded myself with books upon books to study and I wrote speech upon speech to improve my writing skills, and then I attended ceremonies where I gave those speeches to improve my public speaking abilities. I was finally back on track; I was human again. If it weren't for Sorachi and Hoshiro, I wouldn't be where I was today. Well, I wasn't exactly in the best place in the world and I hadn't exactly landed myself where I wanted but like I said before, I had the job a million girls would have fought each other for the death for and though it has its ups and downs, I got to add 'Kazekage's assistant' to me résumé (not to mention I had major bragging rights over all the other ninja in my graduating class; they had gone to pots after all their silly D and C rank missions they received; total burnout). Me, I was on top of the world, I was at my prime and there was no way I was going to waste it crying over Inuzuka Kiba. I was above that (and had already spent too much time doing so).
I woke up on the couch of my good friend Hoshiro, my other teammate. Sorachi had told me I could stay with her and hadn't really meant to kick me out but I told her that eating ice cream all day on her sofa would be too tempting for me to resist, thus I would tragically revert back to my old habits. She gave me a stern look and said that I should live with Hoshiro temporarily. It was a great idea which he agreed to. Hoshiro, whose two parents were still alive, had always loved being on his own. He left home when he was twelve after having saved ample enough money from his D rank missions as a genin and got his own apartment. I often made fun of him, calling him a lonesome wolf. Of course, Hoshiro shrugged off the comments rather than retorting something clever. Hoshiro was above stooping down to childish name calling games, and so, he kept quiet as usual.
I summoned out my bravery and removed myself from the couch I called my bed. Hoshiro had offered to sleep there and allow me his mattress to sleep on but I had declined by saying that I would simply be imposing much more than I already was. Hoshiro was a generous kind of person and could be stubborn when it came to being a gentleman but I had finally one the quarrel when I pitched a tent in the living room and declared it my home. Unfortunately, the tent was defective and I didn't have enough money at the time to purchase a new one and so the couch became my humble abode.
Prying my fingers from the armrest of the couch, I painfully and slowly dressed for my interview I had in the afternoon. I had decided the previous night on an outfit but somehow the outfit had looked better last night. I rummaged through my clothes and created ensemble upon ensemble only to end up wearing my usual kunoichi uniform. It wasn't very original, but it said that I meant business as a ninja. Or did it? I shrugged off such thoughts and ran out the door, attempting to put my ninja sandals on my bare feet as I did so. I had finally got the right sandal on my foot only to realize I had placed it on the left foot. I struggled to get the shoe off, continuing to run to my destination. If I didn't hurry I would be late; I already overslept. The night before, I was stricken with insomnia. I figured it was because I was so nervous over the interview my mind wouldn't allow itself to settle down. It made me wish I had an off button.
With two ninja sandals on the proper foot, I walked up to the gate of Sand Castle, awaiting my scary interview with the council. If the council approved, they would send me to the Kazekage's siblings, and if they approved, they would send me to the Kazekage himself to approve. If all went well, the interviewing would be done in one day and then a decision would later be reached. I put on a bright smile as I walked into the room of the council members (smiles won hearts after all). My heart and mind were racing as I looked over their faces. Poker faces. I loved it! The council members were, to put it in layman's terms, so bad ass. I simply adored the fact that I had chosen my goal to be a council member. It was all so wonderfully delicious.
They asked me questions about my work experience, or any experience I had in being an assistant. I told them how I graduated at the top of my class, handed them a letter of recommendation from my chunin sensei, and then handed them another letter of recommendation from one of my many summer internships. I also told them about my many endeavors in writing speeches and my victories over public speaking contests. I could tell they were impressed because they were all smiling at me and shooting each other favorable glances. They also told me that with the Kazekage's letter of recommendation, I could easily become a council member as soon as I hit twenty five. I thanked them earnestly as they sent me on my way to meet with the Kazekage's siblings. I almost felt giddy as I left the council room; phase one was complete.
I met with the Sand Siblings in the room I now knew as the assistant's suite; a place I would spend hours doing paperwork and a place I would spend many more hours missing desperately as I embarked on excursions that Temari would soon refer to as errands to retrieve her bare essentials. Matsuri and Kanoka were also in the room. Matsuri had become Temari's assistant several months before. The thirteen year old brat was trying to become the Kazekage's assistant but Temari had taken her under her wing instead. How tragic for little Matsuri. Kanoka, on the other hand, had asked to be Kankuro's assistant and applied for the job. I think she and Kankuro might have had a fling or two but what Kanoka and Kankuro did was none of my business.
The Sand Siblings were engaged in heavy conversation, the brother breaking free from it for a moment to tell me that he and his sister would be with me in ten minutes. Whatever they were discussing, it must have been important. I looked over to the cute girl Matsuri. Little did I know I would come to hate her guts and spit on the ground she floated head over heels on — that disgusting creature! She was conversing with Kanoka, Kankuro's assistant.
The two girls were so polished and refined looking. They were both in stylish outfits that had left me to believe that they couldn't possibly be kunoichi because one thing about kunoichi was that they often had next to zero sense of style. Both girls were clad in fancy kimono tops and spandex bottoms, which led me to believe that perhaps they were kunoichi because they both had kunai holders attached to their right leg. They were just dressed up fancy for their high class office jobs. I looked down at my own mismatched outfit, finding myself to be a dowdy dressed kunoichi, with of course, lack of fashion. My kunoichi outfit consisted of a top I slapped on one day over fishnet and some black spandex shorts, also on top of some fishnet. My pink hair looked like a train wrecked into a cart carrying pink paint to create my messy bun, and the other assistants had nice neat buns in their hair; not one single strand out of place. It was demeaning to see girls like that staring at me, wondering if I was made of the proper material to be the assistant to the Kazekage. And the funny thing was that I was older than the two girls, four years their senior in fact, and I was being ostracized by them. What was the world coming to?
I took a seat on a nearby chair, allowing myself to relax for a moment, and waited patiently. Ten minutes weren't going by very quickly, and so, I decided to tune into whatever Matsuri and Kanoka were saying. Hopefully, I'd catch some important clues that would help me land the job. I heard Matsuri say, "I wish I could be the Kazekage's assistant… he's just so… so dreamy!" Kanoka nodded and giggled simultaneously, agreeing. I rolled my eyes at their silly little girl chatter, glad that I was over boys for the moment and going to focus on my career.
Matsuri and Kanoka had caught me off guard by inviting me over to share with them in their own conversation. Kanoka mentioned how it was important to indulge in such gossip or chatter. "Sweetie," said Matsuri, making me feel younger than she and inferior to her yet again, "Do you know the name of the Kazekage?"
I gulped, realizing I had no idea of his name. I was pretty sure it started with an 'S' or maybe a 'D'… maybe both? I shook my head for a moment, trying to stir any subconscious memories I had of the new Kazekage to the surface. He had become Kazekage at age fifteen… I knew that much. But by Kami, I couldn't figure out his name. It was ridiculous for the insolent brat to quiz me on such a thing. I could act astonished and say, 'Gasp! Why would you ask that? Everyone knows his name!' but the fact was that I had spent too much time staying quiet and not responding quickly enough. My silence had shown that I had to think about it and now that I was answerless… well, I was answerless! I began to stammer a few names here and there, the burble was inaudible. I grabbed the reins of my mind, metaphorically speaking of course, and steered myself to tranquility.
"I can't recall at the moment," I murmured, somewhat calmly. So much for my tranquility!
Matsuri's large honey brown eyes widened and so did Kanoka's. The two girls stared at each other, shocked. It wasn't long before they both broke out into annoyingly high pitched giggles and turned back to me. "Sabaku no Gaara," said Matsuri through giggles, "is his name."
Kanoka had finally broken the string of laughter and decided to be kinder to me. She overlooked my lack of knowledge about the man I was supposed to be working under and informed me that it wasn't surprising for me to have gotten so far to be in the second stage of the interview. Kanoka had said that the council members hadn't been approving of anyone lately and it was an honor that I was approved. I agreed modestly, looking over to see Matsuri snort at my comment. It was at that moment I thought Matsuri was a little bitch, and I didn't like her. Still, I couldn't help but ask, "Can you tell me some more about the Kazekage?"
Matsuri rolled her eyes and then with an exasperated look confirmed that she would tell me more. A flicker of excitement lighted her honey colored eyes, thus becoming more than a flicker as she spoke animatedly about the Kazekage. "The Kazekage's previous assistant was much older."
"Oh, much older," chimed in Kanoka, giddy as well.
"Anyway," Matsuri said, giving Kanoka a look to say that she didn't appreciate the interruption. Kanoka apologized, looked down to her designer heels, and murmured for Matsuri to continue. "She left because she got married and is going to have a baby. She married a Leaf Village ninja, and so, she's moving there with her new husband."
"Not very romantic," snorted Kanoka, "And a bad choice on her part… Being the Kazekage's assistant is so… so…"
"Prestigious," finished Matsuri, taking control of the conversation again, "Just know how lucky you are to be being interviewed by his siblings for the job. It's an honor…" She paused to be dramatic and then continued. "It's my obligation to tell you just how lucky you are. The Kazekage is protector of Sand, a guardian, so-to-speak, of the desert. He is the most important person in the village… and he's single!" There was a giggle from both girls. "Sabaku no Gaara…" Matsuri paused once more for dramatic effect, though I must say that it was growing tiresome. "The chance to work for him, to watch him… is just so… so… endearing all on its own. He's absolutely gorgeous… he's… perfect… Just let me finish by saying that it's a job that a million girls would fight each other to the death for… oh, but we're not supposed to bring that up… don't say anything like that in here unless you want Kankuro-sama to get after you about it." I nodded my head like a bobble head. I feared that Matsuri was about to continue her little dribble on how sexy she thought the Kazekage was when Temari cleared her throat.
"Get back to work girls," Kankuro told the two assistants as he motioned for me to come over to him and his sister. "Kanoka go down to the copy room and make me copies of those two mission reports I gave you." She nodded and took off, but not without sneaking a glance at the closed French doors that led to the Kazekage before she left.
Kankuro and Temari asked me questions about myself, analyzing me. They finally came to the conclusion that I wasn't psycho or a fan girl of the Kazekage and permitted me through after their countless minutes of drilling my mind's core. I suspected that the reason why Kanoka and Matsuri didn't get promoted to become the Kazekage's assistant was solely based upon the fact that they were most likely the number one and two of the mindless Kazekage Fan Club. I smiled humbly and entered through the Kazekage's doorway where I came face to face with the most drop dead gorgeous man I had ever seen, but I pulled myself together because I was Imamura Tsubasa, future highly acclaimed councilwoman that would change Suna for the better.
I had never seen so much as a portrait or picture of the man that sat in his desk in front of me. I was regretful I hadn't because I then could have prepared myself for the moment I met him in person. His eyes didn't lift up from his piece of paperwork he was currently signing for many moments but when his teal eyes did finally look up to mine, I nearly fainted. I mentally slapped myself, reminding myself why I was there, reminding myself of my sole purpose. I looked back into his aquamarine eyes; they were still staring at me. His red hair contrasted with the color of his eyes beautifully, and the dark rims around his eyes made him all the more mysterious and entrancing. He didn't stand to greet me, I noted, still gazing back at him. He didn't seem like the monster I had heard terrible rumors of. He seemed rather gentle and kind, although he hadn't invited me to sit yet. Still, I felt comfortable enough to take the seat directly in front of his desk. He just watched me intently, most likely mentally noting in his head my attempts at breaking the ice between him and me.
"What brings you here," he asked in a soft and dreamy voice. All of a sudden I knew why Matsuri spoke about him so vigorously though I kept my feet firmly planted to the ground. Now was not a time for cloud nine traveling! I braced myself as I handed him my résumé that he looked over rather quickly, but I assumed he was just a fast reader… or skimmer.
"I was interviewed by the council and then your siblings… I understand your assistant position needs to be filled," I began, my voice trembling slightly from nerves. My public speaking competitions had apparently gone out the door in front of this one person.
At that moment, I realized how it was imperative for me to obtain this job. The best I could describe it as the same yearning a girl gets when she's window shopping and spots the most beautiful kimono. She knows she can do wonderful things in that kimono and look damn good while doing it but it was unobtainable. Too pricey. The reason for my interest getting peaked was because of the fact that this was a challenge. It finally dawned on me that this was the job that a million girls would fight each other to the death for. I had to rise up to meet this challenge.
He asked me a few questions about myself. He was quiet when he spoke but he seemed confident in himself as he did so. It surprised me that his quiet demeanor hadn't affected his confidence in speaking. He almost seemed determined to be a good Kazekage and all he needed was a good assistant to aid him. We stumbled a bit when he inquired about my having a boyfriend or not. I saw it as none of his business at first and then thought it over for a moment. He just didn't want another assistant to leave like his previous. "I recently got out of a relationship…"
"How long did it last," he questioned me, making me feel like he was a girl wanting to know the hot juicy gossip but he didn't have the high pitched annoying voice for it.
"It was a summer romance," I replied. Technically I wasn't lying. It had been a summer romance… one that just lasted for four years and then failed miserably with a loud kerplunk as it sank to the depths of the dunes of Sand that made the distance between us seem so unbearably extreme.
"I see," he said, teal eyes boring into me. His gaze was a bit overwhelming and made me desire to look away but I held my ground. If I broke eye contact, I broke my chances of getting the job. It was a rule. "You were at the top of your graduating class at the ninja academy and took summer internships… where at and what for?"
"I took summer internships at law firms, real estate groups and non-profit organizations. I did it to practice my public speaking and improve my community relations and understanding… I want to be a council member one day," I said confidently, knowing that the council was my calling.
"So, does your affinity for council mean that you're not very interested in being my assistant?" His gaze seemed to intensify as I glared back at him, making me suddenly feel uneasy and not as comfortable as I had been when I first entered the room.
"Of course not," I said without wavering. If I wavered then it would mean I wasn't sure and if I wasn't sure, it would mean I wasn't cut out for the job. "I cannot become a council member until I am twenty-five at least… This job is the ideal job until then." After that, things progressed relatively easy and smoothly. He had given me one last nod, murmuring a 'thank you' and a 'you'll be called if you get the job'. I noticed that his teal eyes never diverted away from me as I left the room. Victory was mine! I could taste it. I had the job.
Author's Note: I hope that the canon characters are in character for the most part. I did so to the best of my abilities. If there were any discrepancies in my portrayal of them, it's only to make the story more entertaining and fun. ;) Please review!