Chapter Text
Her hope for the father she once knew was thoroughly lost.
She was petrified. Scared of the fact that a person could change so much and empty all the guts that he had on his own child.
Temari looked at those lifeless eyes, trying to look unbothered, contrary to the current suffering she felt. It was what he wanted, wasn't it? This is why he chose such a cruel way to punish his blood daughter.
She didn't mean harm, no kid did when they tried to sneak out and live a little. To a normal family, her actions from last night would result in simple little reprimands. But hers was never a normal family. Oh, what she would give for one of those.
"Kneel down." He said, his voice was cold. He looked so damn untouchable, so far away. It bothered her, made her eyes prickle brutally.
She forbade herself from crying as her bare knees touched the hot sand, now, spreading a painful sensation to her knees and tights. She wanted to hiss, or maybe whimper. She didn't. Temari listened, even though she hated obedience.
"Don't show emotion. It’s pathetic."
She listened but hated it, cursed it so much under her facade of indifference. How could a man, even if he was her father, ever have her under his iron grip? It felt wrong, so wrong, even if it was for the sake of the family.
Family that was fucked.
"You're angry with me, aren't you?" He asked, never changing his expression.
She couldn't take it anymore. Temari knew she would get hurt, but her patience just expired, it was damagingly low anyway. She replied, "Yes." And blinked at him.
Her eyes changed to mad, showing how much she wanted to strangle him, to pacify that man, to cut him up into pieces, and leave him to rot in the desert sun as he did her. This man was not a father. Not anymore, at least.
But her rage couldn't reach its breaking point by the time it hit. Not just the reality of how hot grains of sand cut the surface of her skin, but a freezing punch that came after, swinging out of nowhere in the bare desert sun. And most would believe that it would be easier to expect in such an environment.
But it was hilarious. The fact that he couldn't do it on his own.
Beside the Kazekage stood a tall figure, Temari couldn't decipher its face from exhaustion, but it was dark, as the look that her father made. How dare he feel guilty now? After torturing her, even shaming her in front of another Sunan ninja. The audacity of this man.
"Don't show yourself to me until you decide to grow up." He took off with the word of malice, leaving her to fall, to bask in the sunshine of her fried knees, and maybe whimper a silent cry. But just, maybe.
It was scary, even though she hated to admit so. It was as scary as the faint sound slipped into her consciousness.
"Okay." It resembled a whisper.
Temari flinched, looking around for a person, a threat. In the desert, enemies are no surprise, even at your own family grounds.
But why would the enemy show themselves so simply? It was a death wish, even a genin knew that. Especially a genin like Temari. Genin that did B rank missions on regular occasions.
Though, she was quite beat up, wasn't she? Even a rookie genin could kill her right now. How funny.
Temari got up, all the cuts burned so bad. How fucking dare he? She asked herself over, and over again.
She knew that she was actually lucky, Gaara had it much worse. But it didn't escape her that this hurt too, no matter how it harmed her less.
Temari sat still, looking around, analyzing the unusual situation.
And then, she heard it again. "It's okay." A sound was far from loud. It was a whisper, its voice gentle and reassuring. Something she hasn't heard in a long time.
She wanted to believe that heat got to her, that was possible and not unusual, so she ignored it while watching her step more cautiously than usual. Just in case.
***
She lay in her bed, showered, her wounds treated by herself only. Suna didn't have that many efficient medic ninjas, and those that were on duty found themselves busy, her mild wounds would be just a hassle in a way. So she didn't ask, they were simple scrapes anyway, no one needed to know.
"It's okay, you're safe." She could hear that whisper as her eyes closed. She couldn't bring herself to check for an enemy anymore. Was it because she was so tired that it didn't bother Temari that she was going to die? Or was it because the voice provided something that she needed to hear?
"It's okay, you're safe, I'm here." So gentle, so nice, warm like a hug she didn't get in a while, it enveloped her into bliss. Temari almost felt the soft caress on her bare back, considering that she was fully clothed, she was probably going nuts. But for some reason, she didn't care.
"I wish that someone was actually here." She whispered back as if to reply, hugging her pillow, feeling like she needed to return a hug desperately. A hug that didn't even exist, for the presence that was fake, for the voice that was probably her craziness symptom. But it felt nice, really, really nice.
And for now, that was enough as she drifted into the night.
***
Green was a welcoming color, she had discovered, as they jumped through the shadows of Konoha's trees, they felt comforting in a way, shadows, that is. It almost hurt, the fact that all this green would burn like the land it came from. But it didn't, it couldn't hurt, because she was Kazekage's daughter.
Temari, surprisingly felt connected with this place, it wasn't like home, far from it, but somehow it seemed like this little of Konoha's wind enveloped her into a hug and didn't let go. Something she was so not used to.
Weird, the feeling was damagingly confusing.
"Don't stare at the leaves with such pity, you look like a psycho."
"I'm not in the mood to talk, Kankuro." She snapped at him, that guy never knew how to mind his business, brother or not, he was damn annoying.
"I wasn't trying to talk, I was just trying to point out how stupid you look." He only gave her a brief side eye, smirking a little, the bastard knew he was hitting the right nerves. "It's out of character."
"Well, I wasn't asking about your opinions, freak." She knew what he meant by that, she was, in fact, out of character, a usually stoic and unwavering girl getting soft for stupid plants. But how couldn't she? All this Chuunin exam bullshit made her want to throw up, it didn't feel right to kill so many people at once. But she was a Shinobi, and what was a Shinobi without its obedience?
And there was that feeling. The feeling of threatening comfort that made her shiver.
Just when Temari was getting ready to argue further, Baki stopped her. "Silence, you two. How many times do I need to remind you that we are in enemy territory?"
"Understood." They said it in unison, not uttering another word. Still, Kakuros expression carried that little satisfaction that he could take.
Fucking freak.
***
It was so weird. How could it be? Her craziness was probably getting to her again. Kankuro was right, she was a psycho.
She kept glancing at the boy across the examination hall, the silly looking one with that goofy ponytail and bored look on his face. But all Konoha ninja seemed silly to them Sunans, from what she read about, their customs and laws heavily relied on closeness of community, which to Sunan people never made sense, to her father, it was actually absurd.
Or that was what Temari heard while eavesdropping on his meetings with diplomatic and political envoys. She knew that it was a careless act, but Temari couldn't pass up the opportunity. Such topics interested her immensely. Kazekage never wanted her to be, though she never knew why, it will remain an endless mystery to her.
So, maybe, just maybe, his weirdness was normal in his lands.
Even with that, the fact that his voice was familiar wasn't just a weird joke, surely she made it up, her craziness that developed through the years just hit her, didn't it?
"It's okay, Ino. It wasn't your fault."
She kept staring as she relived the moment of his teammate's loss, how he comforted her with those simple words, trying to seem nonchalant without success.
It was younger, kind of more childish, but it was still so similar, it sounded like the voice that enveloped Temari through sleepless nights, giving her the only comfort that she had had since forever. How could she forget it?
Her heart wanted to believe that voice existed, that its shards of gentleness were real. But who was she lying to? It was just a figment of her made up world, of made up wishes.
It was probably a coincidence, probably an imagined lie. But Temari couldn't pass the opportunity to think that it was him. That It’s okay to think so.
Just like she couldn't turn away from Kazekage's forbidden doors.