Chapter 10
An island full of green greeted them when they arrived on Kika Island. Shikamaru, Neji, and Kiba commanded their army to prepare themselves to leave the ship and start carrying their equipment and things down to the island. After hours of setting up their tents and baggage, the samurais had the chance to take a rest.
Temari's eyes wandered to the beauty of the island, it was green and full of crops, vegetables, and fruits. Spring was also abundant there, she leaned towards it and saw her reflection, it was the clearest water that she has seen in her life. Her eyes glanced to her left side and there was a small community in there, a little far away from their camp. There were little kids running around, people were having a conversation, merchants selling in their market, and ofcourse a red district where the young samurais could spend their night there.
The next day during their stay at Kika Island, Sasuke and Naruto's army arrived and the five leaders had their meeting first thing in the morning.
"Commander Hiashi is really something" Naruto laughed
"Stop laughing, it's not funny" Kiba pouted, he is visibly irritated
"Oh, come on! You know him, he's like an old witch" Naruto jokily said then Neji glared at him angrily. He clears and throat and changes the topic "Speaking of witches, Hidan is now at the demon island. They're invading the village"
Kiba, Neji, and Shikamaru were shocked by the news and they all stared at Sasuke and Naruto.
"Wait? Who's fighting the ground?" Neji asked
"Commander Orochimaru" Sasuke followed
Kiba laughed "What are they going to do? Wield their wands before their swords?"
All of them laughed at Kiba's joke except Shikamaru.
"Stop joking about Orochimaru, he's not a witch but his parents do. He can be trusted. He's our ally and a great samurai"
"Take a joke Shikamaru, will you?" Naruto said while tapping his shoulder
"Why are you so irritated Shikamaru?" Sasuke asked
He sighed "I keep thinking about Commander Hiashi's words after leaving Jiro Island. We should have listened to Tem—Takeo" He removed his gaze away from his comrades and starts thinking about what happened that night, during the invasion of Jiro Island.
Neji stared at him and starts re-evaluating his decision, if he didn't intervene they probably killed the second fleet before they reached them. He was still thankful that Commander Hiashi arrived before they all die on that island.
"I agree, we should have listened to him that night. I apologize Shikamaru and I think I need to apologize to Takeo too" Neji stared at him with his heads up and fixed posture "You should train the young man, he's a potential"
Shikamaru nodded in return then gulped the tea in his cup.
After the five leaders' meeting and breakfast, Neji walked to the camp where the samurais were practicing. He was searching for the young samurai to whom he wanted to talk. Temari was practicing her kyudo skills in one of the free spaces of the camp. Her hand keeps pulling the string while eyeing her target to the other side.
He walked to her spot and Temari turned around after hearing his footsteps, she bowed at him when he reached her location. Neji bowed at her in return.
"No, you shouldn't-" Temari said
"No Takeo, you deserve my respect" Neji said while his head still in a bow position
"I felt like I didn't deserve it"
Neji stands up and sighed "Can I invite you for a tea?" he offered and Temari agreed.
They sit at the table outside the leaders' rooms and a village servant gave them jasmine tea and karaage. Temari bites on the karaage while waiting for Neji's words.
He released a faint sigh after gulping the jasmine tea "I'd like to apologize to you, Takeo"
"Why? Lord Hyuuga?" she asked
"We should have believed in you that night. If I just didn't -"
Temari interrupted him before he continues his words "You shouldn't apologize. I couldn't blame you"
"Just call me Neji and treat us like one of your friends. You call Shikamaru by his first name, right?"
She nodded and starts drinking the tea in her hand. They continue their conversation but full of it were lies, Temari told him nothing but lies, trying to protect her identity. She felt uneasy during their session but she was thankful for gaining his trust as a comrade, and as part of the army.
Her lower abdomen starts to feel pain so she gasps like she was having cramps and Neji saw her reaction.
"Are you alright, Takeo?"
"Ye-yeah, it's probably the tea I drank. Sorry Neji, I'll have to use the bathroom" She stood up and walked her way to her private bathroom.
"Wait, the bathroom is on the other side?" He asked
"Uhm, no I-I found another one there. It's peaceful inside so I have to go. I'm sorry I have to go" she hurriedly walked to her bathroom and left him on the table
Neji was confused because it was his first time seeing a samurai using another bathroom in their camp. His gaze moved to the seat where she seated earlier and found clotted blood in it. His eyes were shocked by what he was seeing, he had seen blood and could recognize one and he was sure about the blood in her seat. He glanced at her again who was now running to the other side of the camp, to check if there was blood in her Kimono but she wore a black one so it was not visible.
It all starts to make sense for Neji now. The mysterious samurai in his head becomes clearer in his eyes now. To confirm his intuition, he walked beside her tent and wait for her to rest inside. It was already 6 pm when Temari entered her tent and Neji walked out behind the tree where he was hiding.
Temari starts to unwrap her obi and she removed the upper part of her Kimono, only revealing the linen clothes that wrapped around her chest.
Instantly, Neji sways the fabric door of her tent. She was startled after seeing him standing there with his angry eyes. Temari attempts to grab her Haori to cover her upper part but Neji starts dragging her across the camp, leading to their meeting room, where the four other leaders were having their sake session. She tried to escape from his grip by kicking him and pulling her arms, but Neji was able to make it to their location.
He opened the door forcefully and throws her in the middle of the room. The four leaders were shocked seeing Temari with her upper part exposed, only wrapped with sarashi. Shikamaru immediately stood up and starts unwrapping his haori.
Neji sways his katana into the air and was ready to cut her head but Shikamaru yelled at him.
"Stop! She's Rasa's daughter!" he runs towards Temari and starts to cover her with his haori.
"Get the fuck out of there Shikamaru! You know the law! She should be punished!" Neji yelled back
"Do you want to break another war with Suna? Huh? Neji?" He stood up and faced him "Rasa would definitely go for a kill if he heard his daughter died in this camp. Have you seen her brothers? They wouldn't hesitate to kill a man for revenge"
"She's a woman!" Neji responded
"And? What are you going to do about it? She's still a samurai"
"The hamamoto and the court wouldn't allow it and you know that Shikamaru. Have you read the law?"
"Sometimes you need to break a law to make a new law. And her is our new law! She's better than us at fighting with swords and you know that! And she's good with making decisions too, have you forgotten Neji?"
Temari just stared at them, wanted to shout, wanted to say a lot of things but if she did one wrong move, she knew her head would be cut instantly. She's thankful that Shikamaru was there, if not she wouldn't have been alive that night.
Sasuke walked in front of Temari and starts lifting her chin "Get up" he commanded
Temari pushed the wooden floor to stand up, Sasuke offers his hand be she denied it. Temari stood up with her head held high and stared at Sasuke.
"Why did you deceive the army?" he asked
"I just wanted to join my brothers in the war…..and my father too. To protect them and to serve my village" she said in her low and husky voice
"How long have you been in the camp again?"
"Three weeks"
He nodded "Three weeks huh?" Sasuke glanced at Shikamaru and smirked "Neji, drop your katana. She'll join us in war. Her father will do the punishment and not us. She knows her risk and she took it, right? What's your name again princess?"
"Temari" her voice cracked
"Temari, you're aware of your fate once your father found out that you entered the army disguised as a man, am I right? I heard that Rasa is really evil when it comes to punishment"
"You're right. So, getting into the war is nothing compared to facing him with disappointment and anger on his face" Her red eyes meet with Sasuke's darkened gaze.
He chuckled and nodded in return "Alright, back to your tent now"
She was surprised that he let her leave but it was her opportunity to continue her mission. Temari bowed at him and immediately left their room while gripping Shikamaru's haori to cover her upper body. Neji looked at them intently and throws his katana to the floor.
"It's all your responsibility now! She's lucky that she's the Kazekage's daughter. If not-" he sighed "Shikamaru! You'll keep an eye on the princess!" Neji walked out of their room with anger in his heart.
The four leaders looked at each other with heavy faces as they were bestowed with the huge responsibility of keeping the princess safe in their camp. Especially Shikamaru, since she was in his army.
