Chapter 13
He sips the coffee that was served to them that morning. Kiba, Naruto, and Shikamaru are having breakfast at the table outside their rooms while Sasuke assists one of his samurai in Kyudo. Naruto was making jokes that time but only Kiba laughed, Shikamaru’s attention was far from the two leaders in front of him. He glances at the Kendo sparring session in one of the grass spaces of camp every now and then, Temari was having her session.
“I sayyyyyy---She’’s pretty” Kiba said “Do you think I have a chance with her?”
“Hell no Kiba! Stop joking around. The only chance that you get is your head getting chopped off by Rasa if you asked her hand in marriage” Naruto mockingly said
“Ha-Ha-Ha. Funny! I thought your comedic session was done?” Kiba brushed his fingers through his hair and squint his eyes “I say----I have a chance. I’m the best warrior, you see?” He flexes his muscles
“Well, too bad. She’s a warrior too. She didn’t need someone who’s a warrior” Naruto responded
“Yeah, you’re right” he sighed “And she’s a princess too. The rarest of them all, you cannot find a girl like that in centuries. Her future husband is definitely a lucky guy” Kiba said
Shikamaru didn’t speak during their breakfast at all, he just listened to them. He agrees to what Kiba just said, in every word he said. His gaze moved to Temari spot again, checking if she’s still doing her session. This time, the three of them saw her walking to their table with furrowed brows and breathless.
Temari drop the wooden Katana in front of Shikamaru and stomp their table while looking at him
“I’m done with the session!” she shrieked “I defeated seven samurais, seven samurais Shikamaru! That’s beyond my record. So, I’m doing my kyudo today whether you like it or not! End of discussion!” She immediately left their spot and starts heading to where Sasuke was standing.
Shikamaru quickly stands up in an attempt to stop her but there’s a force that pulls him. Temari has her right to do her training that day, there’s no reason for him to stop her from having a session with Sasuke.
“Wow. What a woman” Kiba said
Their day went as usual, Temari honing her skills in kyudo while Shikamaru tried to move his attention in training his samurais. They both ignored each other for the whole day like they didn’t exist inside the camp.
A cold touch from Sasuke brought her senses back, Temari was pulling the string from her bow when she zones out. There’s something bugging her mind that she cannot shake off. At that time, she starts thinking about her goal and why she is at the camp. Her intention is to join the war with her brothers and father and that should be her main focus for now. She tried to rethink again and forget all the invading thoughts in her mind.
Or maybe she wanted to prove to the people around her that she can do more than just being a princess. Since she was a little kid, rejection was her little old friend.
Temari, no
Temari, it’s impossible for you to do that
Temari, you shouldn’t do that
You’re a princess
You’re a woman
Those words build up her courage and passion in doing things that these people thought were impossible. Trust is the only thing she needs from them and she knows it’s really hard for her to gain. So, she works herself up to the top and proves to these people that they were wrong and that she can do what a man can do.
“Rest your eyes for me again…..princess” Sasuke said in his low and gentle voice
“Yeah” she nodded and closed her eyes.
Her lips curved into a smile as her mind starts flashing the faces of people that were close to her heart, the people who trust her and her ability.
Gaara
Kankuro
Matsuri
Baki their Trainor
The next person she saw made her eyes open, she shook her head and then stare at the red dot in front of her.
“Release” Sasuke said
It was a perfect shot.
It was already 11 pm, the dark shadow of his empty room embraced him but his eyes remained open. He stood up and lit the candle on the desk beside his futon. His feet lead him to his study table and pick up an old book on the shelves.
A beautiful handcrafted paper greeted him when he opened the book. He could tell that the paper was made from a rare leaf in the middle of the desert. An expensive paper from Suna. His eyes focus on the question written inside which made him sold from the first he saw it.
How about you my future husband? How do you define it? About love?
From the day he saw this letter, different faces start building in his mind, trying to create an unknown person that named Temari.
Trying to visualize the girl who’s not afraid to speak her mind yet gentle and innocent in defining about love.
“…it’s Temari”
Her voice stuck in his head after hearing it.
It was her that he was looking, the girl who wrote the letter. The unknown girl in his head finally has a face. He folds the paper again and slides it to the book on his shelve.
He starts asking himself again like he always does every night. How does he define it? About love?
Shikamaru finally knows the answer. This may be the reason why he couldn’t find the answer to that question because it was not supposed to be found, it was supposed to be felt.
They woke up the next day preparing the young samurais in the morning. The four leaders gathered at the table outside their room for their breakfast. Kiba and Naruto were initiating the conversation as per usual, Sasuke just laughed at them and then sips his coffee. Shikamaru tried to engage in the discussion but it was forceful.
Suddenly, Temari walked near to their table leading to the kyudo training spot where they usually trained. She glanced at Sasuke and smile; it was her signal for him to start her training.
Sasuke immediately stood up and grab the basket full of arrows beside him and joined Temari to walk.
“Ohhh, looks like Sasuke is going to bring home a princess” Kiba teasingly said
“What a Casanova!” Naruto added
Shikamaru tried to hide his emotions from the two leaders in front of him and just released a faint laugh, to cast his true feeling. Unknown to Kiba and Naruto, Shikamaru’s hands were gripping the end of his seat and his lips began to shiver. He didn’t know how to handle it, how to handle the new emotion that he felt. The emotion of what they called jealousy.
His eyes began to moist while trying to laugh at Kiba and Naruto’s joke. He stood up from his seat when the feelings inside of him were unbearable.
It was his choice in the first place, rejecting all the feelings he had for her and Temari’s feelings for him too. He thought it was easy for him to just shake away everything but he was wrong.
Anytime soon he needs to accept it, he needs to accept that this should be over and he needs to detach himself from anything about them. And not talking to her is not helping him to move on. He needs to talk, greet, nod, smile, and see her like the other people around them, it’ll be easier for him to dimmish his feelings, slowly.
It’s already 6 pm and it’s their dinner time as per usual. Omoi and Lee joined Temari in her dinner.
“The Suna samurai seems to be protective of you” Omoi whispered “They been staring at me and Lee the whole time”
They glanced at a group of samurai eating across them, they all wear a badge of Suna in their uniform. All of their eyes were intensely glaring at the two boys she was with.
“Pssh! Don’t mind them. I have been locked in our palace so it’s their first time to see me in flesh” she responded
“I thinkkkkkk. It’s more of they don’t want to see you with some random man. Was it supposed for you to marry a daimyo or a prince or something like that?” Lee asked
She chortled “Don’t remind me. All my life I’ve been a prison to my home, I don’t want to be imprisoned again by marrying those people”
Lee and Omoi stared at her, they can’t help but feel empath for her. They all stood up from their seats once they were done eating and walked to their tents. Before they separate ways, Omoi spoke.
“Oh right. Temari! Sorry, I forgot; Lord Nara wanted to talk to you about your progress. You should report to him”
