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1.
The humid air outside makes the wait worse than it was supposed to be, the sweat making Sakura's clothes stick to her body, the casual, non-ninja sandals starting to prick on her feet, the odd and uncomfortable sensation of the air when it's too heavy from heat and the orders she was given by the Hokage to “act like a Chūnin”.
Orders whose undertone means do not slack off, do not bother the Princess, do not ask questions, do not act recklessly. It also means to not complain about tardiness.
Every two or so people that entered the village makes Sakura straighten her posture only to be met with complete indifference. With closed eyes, standing on her feet though supported by the gatewalls, she’s almost dozing off as a shadow plants itself right in front of her and makes a very much displeased, guttural sound.
“They sent a Gēnin to be my escort?" That thick, moody tone, heavy with accent and rudish abrasiveness says, “Were they out of ninjas?”
Sakura brushes the question off, “You’re the princess?”
“Yes, Princess of the sand.”
Sakura gulps the retort that she looks nothing like a princess. Nothing good would come from it anyway.
“Follow me.”
Temari makes a sound and goes to her side, guided by Sakura to the Hokage’s office. She does not try to small talk, nor does she seem antsy as Sakura with the heavy silence.
Walking by the commercial street, Sakura tries to think about any possible topics, the food served in the first restaurant is bad, the gears on that other shop are really good even though they’re really cheap. As they pass the fifth shop, however, the silence becomes unbearable. Sakura exhales irritatedly before giving Temari her best, most charming smile.
“So, Temari,” starts Sakura with no care in the world for status or honorifics, “what brings you to the Hidden Leaf?”
“Business,” she answers matter of factly, staring straight ahead.
“Classified business?”
“Just business,” Temari looks at her, “you’re being nosy.”
“Just trying to start a conversation, you know,” she huffs, “trying to be amicable.”
“Are Konoha ninjas always this nosy?” Temari’s voice is still guarded, but Sakura feels a small invitation to continue.
“So,” she tests, “What brings you to the Hidden Leaf?”
Amused, Temari laughs faintly, “I’m to be the new ambassador between Suna and Konoha.”
The walk becomes pleasant, then. Their pace slows down, Temari watches as the village passes by, its people and their little habits, Sakura, in turn, watches Temari.
“That’s a big job,” says Sakura with an impressed whistle, “even for a Chūnin.”
It doesn’t take long for them to arrive at the main building, Sakura gestures to the flight of stairs.
“It’s an expected position for a princess,” Temari teases back, “And you a Princess’ escort, that’s also a big job for a Gēnin, isn’t it?”
“They trust me very much,” Sakura gloats, “I’m the best Gēnin from around.”
Half a truth, Tsunade trusts her a lot for her level, but it’s less about being the most trusted Gēnin around and more about her being the only Gēnin with no fixed team, free time and willing to accept anything. It’s hard to be recognized when she’s given no opportunities to show what she can do.
Temari laughs along with her and stops walking. Sakura knocks on the office’s door and opens it for Temari to enter.
“The meeting is supposed to be brief,” Temari says, “show me around the village after I’m finished, I have some time to kill before my next appointment tomorrow.”
Sakura waits for Temari outside, just like a bodyguard, standing tall and patient until she comes back and asks for restaurant recommendations, Sakura ends up showing Temari the village’s touristic area when she’s finished for the day. Maybe this low-effort, high-paying mission is worth it, after all.
2.
Temari sees the girl perched on the village’s wall long before she approaches the gates. The pink hair stands out and makes her too visible and vulnerable. Huh, strange, people from the Hidden Leaf open really easily. She could put her hands on Sakura’s neck just to deliver a message
Hand on her hips, smirk on her face and chest puffed out, Temari says:
“They sent a Gēnin to be my escort again?” she teases, with no bite.
Sakura smiles back at her, “I’m not a Gēnin anymore, you see.”
With a few seconds of silence, Temari smiles more genuinely, “Congratulations, how’s Chūnin life treating you?”
Sakura’s not in a hurry, she stays rooted in place, not moving before Temari moves; and Temari’s also not in a hurry, she has time to spare.
“Not much has changed,” Sakura answers, “some missions here and there, still not allowed to do the S-ranked ones, still jumping from team to team. The same.”
Temari laughs, “I still have some time before the meeting, where will you take me this time?”
“You’re always early lately,” she jokes, “be careful, or I’ll start to think you’re coming early to spend time with me.”
Temari remains impassive, it has a grain of truth, though; Konoha is truly a beautiful village to visit, it’s a nice change of pace from the rough winds and lifestyle of the Hidden Sand, where beauty costs too much money to arrange and upkeep and everything is rationed and scarce. She smiles, “It might be true. So, where?”
Sakura pushes herself off the wall and enters the village, “What do you want to see this time?”
“Your favorite place,” nonchalantly, Temari answers, “my treat. Think of it as a gift.”
Sakura smiles and leads the way deep into the residential area.
“You’re still team-hopping?” Temari asks as they go around a house full of edible plants and herbs, an open, inviting door and windows that it’s possible to see the heavily decorated inside, colorful and lived in a way that feels alien in comparison to houses back home, “You’re still doing missions alone, then.”
The owner of said house waters her plants, she’s dressed a lot more grounded than the decoration of her house, only with colorful clothes, which is funny, Konoha beautify its places and not its people; in turn, Suna’s inhabitants wear very shiny adornments and talismans all over their bodies, men and women. Temari’s obviously from somewhere else with all her earrings and bracelets.
“Yes, it’s me by myself most of the time,” she sighs, “and it’s not every time that a team has a vacant spot for me to fill in. Lately I’m filling in a lot for Neji, he’s constantly going on solo missions now that he’s a Jōnin, so Team 8 happens to need me a lot.”
“Does it bother you?” Temari continues, “Not having a fixed team?”
“By now I’d say I’m used to it,” Sakura points to a small place with outside tables and very little movement, “Oh, there's the restaurant!”
They’re sitting on an outside table per Temari’s preferences. Sakura orders her favorite food for them both, a plate she said it’s a must whenever commemorating something. Temari orders two cups of water and a cup of sake. The owner gives a dirty look.
“Aren’t you too young to be drinking?” he asks.
“I’m old enough to pay for my drinks,” she retorts, “if I can pay, I can drink.” Maybe it was her heavy Wind Country accent, maybe it was her way of speaking with confidence, but the owner looks restless as he nervously places the order.
Another person comes with their orders, she places their drinks on the table, she gives her another dirty, apprehensive look, her face the same questioning look as the owner.
“You Konoha people are too full of senseless rules,” Temari groans as the server goes back her way.
Temari only shrugs when she sees Sakura slightly frowning. She raises the alcohol cup and Sakura rushes to raise hers, though Temari stops her with a head shake.
"Congratulations on your promotion," says Temari as she pours all the cup's content on the floor. She sees Sakura trying to match her smile but her face is too puzzled from the act and too ashamed to even ask.
“It's tradition,” Temari explains, still being stared at like she's a lunatic, she almost crumbles under the questioning gaze, “Suna tradition, we pour the first drink to the desert, that way we can have a clear journey for the future. Without sandstorms."
Sakura's smile is soft in a way Temari struggles to understand where it's coming from, she hasn’t said anything extraordinary. Temari raises her eyebrow.
“That’s nice,” Sakura answers with a genuine laugh, “it’s not everyday you share something about yourself.”
“You already know me.”
“Yeah, but you never talk about yourself.”
“You do that enough for the both of us.”
“I don’t talk that much,” Sakura scoffs.
“You talk enough that you forget you’re on duty,” Temari smirks, “and I think the meeting starts soon.”
They finish their food in silence. Temari pays for their food and they start to walk the way back to Tsunade’s office.
Temari, now, needs Sakura more than ever, too deep inside the Hidden Leaf’s residential area. Sakura keeps talking to her about how she knows almost everyone here because every time they take a turn someone greets the girl.
“So, Temari,” she starts when they’re back at the main road, “Neji—do you know him?—he’s already a jōnin, when are you becoming one?”
Temari stares at her, “They didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“Your mission today is to escort the Kazekage.”
Temari waits for a reaction, it’s strange to see Sakura this quiet, she watches as her mouth opens and closes slightly.
"Congratulations on your promotion, then..." Sakura manages to mutter.
Strange indeed, Sakura’s normally cheerful when it comes to news from their friends, are they not friends?
“How?” Sakura simply asks.
“How what?”
“How did you get promoted so fast? How do you get good so fast?”
Temari now understands the sentiment, bitterness from her own low-achieving situation. She knows this feeling.
“Hmm…” Temari stops in her tracks before entering the Hokage’s building, she takes her fan from its place on her back and smears one of its purple circles with blood from a finger she has just bitten. The Summoning Technique brings out the Kazekage’s hat from her fan with a poof and she adjusts it on her head, it feels heavy on her head and shoulders, just for a little while, she thinks just as bitterly as Sakura, for a little while until Gaara or Kankurou inherit it. Sakura stares back at her, intently watching her every move.
Temari places the giant fan back on its place, “Nepotism, I guess,” she finally answers nonchalantly. Temari enters the building first, Sakura follows her from a distance.
The meeting drags on for hours, all the escorts are allowed to go on their way long before it even ends. Temari doesn’t stay in the Hidden Leaf nor says goodbye, she goes back to her village the second she can.
3.
Sakura would never admit it, but she’s glad that Naruto’s back, ecstatic even. He’s her team, struggle of her struggle. She’s not yet recovered from her high when Tsunade calls her for a mission, she can’t stop smiling.
“Suna's ambassador is coming in a few hours for the Chūnin Exams, can you be her escort again?” Tsunade offers. Not an order of a mission; she’s been given a choice to choose this time, probably because of Naruto’s sudden return and as much as she wants to spend time with Naruto again, she also has so many questions for Temari.
“Yes, of course,” she answers, “can Naruto tag along?”
“I have matters to discuss with him, maybe after he’s done,” Tsunade says. Without looking up from her paperwork, she motions for Sakura to leave, “tell him to come here if you find him, please. And you know the drill, wait for her at the entrance, she’ll arrive in one hour.”
Sakura bows to Tsunade and goes to find Naruto and wait.
Temari shows up to the gates looking more tired than ever and sans Kazekage hat. She smiles when she sees Sakura.
“A Chūnin to be the Princess’ escort?” she teases.
“The same as always.”
Sakura’s not in a hurry to finish the mission, Naruto’s too busy talking to Tsunade.
“What’s your schedule for today?”
Temari picks out a tiny agenda from the inside of her clothes, “For today I only have to check on the first part of the arena and talk to Tsunade to give her the relation of Sand ninjas that will participate in it. I have more work tomorrow.”
“You leave in two days?”
“No, tomorrow as soon as I finish I’ll go back to Suna,” Temari shows her a page of the book with the arena’s location for Sakura to show the way, “And tomorrow is mostly boring meetings, you won’t need to babysit me.”
Sakura laughs a bit, “I never babysit you.”
Temari gives her a look as if she’s stupid, “You do know what your job is as my escort, don’t you?”
“To help you around, no?”
“No…” Temari says. She can be really frustrating at times, all the times when she’s secretive.
“Won’t you tell me?” Sakura pries.
“You’re here to be sure I won’t go and try to uncover village secrets.”
It makes sense and it also makes the job more exciting, Sakura smiles brightly and guides her proudly.
It truly is a fast job, just also a high-demanding one, if the bags under Temari’s eyes can be an indication.
“Naruto’s back, apparently,” Temari says as they head to Tsunade’s office.
“How do you know?”
“People are rather noisy here in Konoha, everyone can hear their gossip.”
Sakura smiles to herself, “He is…”
“Won’t need to team-hop anymore,” Temari smiles at her, “they do duo missions here, no?”
“We do, yeah, we’ll probably go back to being a team.” Sakura looks around and then looks at Temari to search for some confidence, “Heard you’re a Jōnin again.”
“I have never been a Jōnin before.”
“But you were the Kazekage just last month, what happened?”
Temari straightens her back and cleans her throat, sensitive topic maybe? “It was a temporary position.”
“How’s the Kage position temporary?”
“In Sunagakure it is,” Temari says, “it’s hereditary until the heir comes of age. I was doing the job until my brother could inherit it.”
“So, Kankuro’s the new Kazekage?”
“No, he never wanted the responsibility, so I took his place. Gaara’s the Kazekage.”
“And now you’re a Jōnin.”
“And now I’m a Jōnin.”
Sakura fidgets with her forehead protector. It’s all so strange, Suna’s really strange, “Did you want to be the Kazekage?”
“When I was younger, yes,” Temari pauses for a bit just to keep Sakura hanging, “Right now? I don’t think so.”
“Why’s that?”
Temari thinks for a bit, she still has her permanent scowl and sharp edges, but her voice feels open and tender, “I don’t know how to explain, I think I like my job as it is now, I like traveling.”
They drift a little bit closer to each other, their shoulders brushing every few steps. It leaves Sakura more giddy than the news of Naruto’s return, she’s very much comfortable being by Temari’s side.
Temari gives Tsunade the report and goes to rest. Sakura goes to train with Naruto and Kakashi, a part of her completes as she falls back into old dynamics. Naruto has a way of making her amused and angry at the same time, she’s a child again, back when Team 7 was her world.
Everything’s in a rush, Sakura’s back training with others after a long time of only training alone, Temari has meeting after meeting, the only time they see each other since Naruto came back is when Sakura takes her to another, smaller village for another of Temari’s endless meeting, they say their in a hurry goodbyes right there.
3.5
Tsunade calls for Sakura as soon as she arrives back after she dropped Temari off. There’s an urgent call from Sunagakure, the Hokage gives the three of them—Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi—the night to prepare and rest. They’re to leave at sunrise.
With stomach churning and mind busy, Sakura tries to get some rest, but she tosses and turns with anxiety under her covers. She asks herself if Temari already knows her brother’s been kidnapped, is she already on her way even if she’s exhausted from all the nonstop work and trips she had during the week; it’s more possible she hasn't heard the news yet. She might know something happened from the wind, Temari told her once that the wind carries messages of future disasters with the smell and sound if you’ve trained enough.
Sakura wakes up feeling more tired than rested, she doesn’t remember crying even though her eyes feel puffy. The team leaves the village in a hurry and in complete silence. Temari finds the three of them in the middle of the road, or rather, they find her on the road.
“What are you doing here?” she asks, frantic under the calm façade.
“Something happened in Suna—” Sakura tries to start.
“I knew something happened,” Temari returns to walking, “the Wind told me just now.”
“The Wind?” Naruto asks, baffled.
“Yes, the Wind carries messages,” she talks rather calmly for someone who knows something bad has happened. Sakura’d never pin Temari as a superstitious person, and when asked about it the first time she’s heard about the Wind, Temari said it’s not superstition, it's how her village learns about future sandstorms. She said, then, in a very Temari way, voice raspy and rough the Wind’s a very reliable messenger for those with a good nose.
“We have no time for it,” Kakashi interrupts calmly, he starts running fast, Naruto following soon after. Sakura and Temari lag a little behind, the latter still confused as to why such a rush.
Sakura looks at her, “Your brother, Temari, he’s been kidnapped.”
Temari takes the lead from Kakashi by silent force—a natural leader to Sakura’s view. She takes them through the harshest but fastest way back to her village. Before they can pass through the transition area between thick forest and brutal desert, she asks if Kakashi has any drink other than water.He gives her a tiny flask that was secured inside his clothes. Temari pours everything on the ground with serious and fearful eyes. Sakura sees Kakashi ready to complain loudly, but she puts hand on his shoulders and motions a no. She lets Temari have this moment.
They’re all destroyed when they get to Suna’s oppressive gates, all of them but Temari for she’s too high on adrenaline to care. Sakura’s team struggles to keep up with her, they’ve been struggling for a while now. The situation is worse than what they were notified.
Gaara’s been kidnapped and Kankuro’s bedridden. It makes Temari the acting Kazekage according to everyone else around.They’re all calling her Princess Kazekage and in a rush. Behind all the frenzy, Sakura admires Temari. She’s the one ordering everyone around, Temari gives Kakashi’s team the mission to go after the Kazekage; directly looking at Sakura, she wishes for a safe desert with glassy eyes. She orders—or offers, Sakura’s not sure—Chiyo to go with them.
Sakura is the last to leave the room. Kankuro groans from pain and hallucination, she tries to argue that she should stay. She can cure Kankuro, she’s been training to be a medic ever since her team has disbanded. Temari looks anything but her composed self, her answer is a desperate salty kiss on her lips and a slap on her face. Sakura gives some instructions on herbs to the first person she sees, then she goes after her team.
Everything works out in the end, but she’s not able to say goodbye to Temari. Both of her brothers are there for the farewells, they apologize for their sister's absence as she’s too tired. Sakura’s not sure if it’s an excuse to avoid her or if she’s been spending the last days too fatigued. She’s been taking care of the village as the acting Kazekage and tending for her brother’s health at the same time.
The two brothers hug everyone, but spend more time hugging Sakura.
After his hug, Gaara places his hands on both of Sakura's shoulders, “I hope to see you more from now on,” he gives her a soft smile, “thank you for everything.”
“Temari fainted,” Kankuro whispers in her ear when he hugs her too tightly, “they said she hasn’t eaten since she arrived here. She collapsed as soon as everything was resolved and hasn't woken up since.”
Sakura’s departure feels rather bittersweet, she feels confidence oozing from her, it’s been the first time since she had an actual, action-filled mission, and being with Naruto, her old teammate, made everything even more memorable. She also feels like crying from Temari’s withdrawal and avoidance. She certainly will when she gets to her bed.
4.
Temari doesn’t feel right returning to Konoha.There’s something going on between her and Sakura ever since they went to Suna together Temari’s visits are not as constant compared to before and when it’s unavoidable for her to come to Konoha, she makes sure to return to Suna as soon as she can so Sakura cannot confront her.
This time, though, it’s impossible for Temari to run away. She had a diplomatic meeting in the morning and there’ll be another in three days' time. She can’t return home to hide. The journey to Suna would span two nights and two more nights to return to Konoha. Must be the Wind making fun of her for being an avoidant coward, the Desert Winds has always been the harshest of them all. Sakura found a way—she always finds a way—to drag her to a street bar for some relaxation time. Almost every kunoichi from the Hidden Leaf is there with them. Temari remembers their names, but not who is who; Sakura has told her countless times about her friends from Konoha, but their names and stories all blur together into a single Sakura’s friends blend.
She’s glad, though, that there’s more people around to entertain Sakura, Temari can stay quiet and just listen to the village’s gossip.
“Temari, how was your childhood?” Sakura blurts out as soon as the other girls stop paying attention to Temari to talk to each other.
Temari plays with the ice from her drink, “It was okay.”
“Okay?” Sakura frowns her brows.
“Okay.”
“Just okay?”
They start to attract attention, little by little the table starts to become silent as the girls focus on the two of them. Temari will blame Sakura’s curious and playful tone. Four pairs of eyes stare at Temari patient and expectantly
She sips her drink, “Just okay.”
“How was your family?” the blonde, ponytail girl tries to squeeze more information.
“Two younger brothers and a father."
“We already know that, anything else?” Tenten asks. Temari only knows her name because she vividly remembers beating her up without raising a single finger.
“Like what?”
“Growing up, who were your friends?” the blonde girl says, “How was your school? Must have been nice, you’re the princess.”
“Why do you want to know?”
Sakura catches her eyes, “Because we’re friends.”
Temari feels a bit intimidated by the attention and by Sakura’s almost disapproving stare. No, disapproving is not right, it’s a desperate and pleading stare. She remains silent, fighting for her ground.
“My childhood was nice,” Sakura continues, “my parents always supported me when I said I wanted to be a kunoichi,” she gestures to two of the girls, “I had my friends with me at the academy, we played around, had fun together…”
“I wish I had a say in becoming a kunoichi,” the blonde girl starts, “my parents are very strict when they said I should continue the InoShikaCho formation with Shikamaru and Chouji. But yeah, the years we were in the academy were really fun.”
“I became a kunoichi because I really loved to go to the weapon shop,” Tenten intrudes, “but the lady said I could only touch a kunai if I was a kunoichi.”
How can Temari talk? How can she say anything about her past? All these girls had loving parents, none of them had siblings. She feels rage. Have any of them ever killed someone or are they all just playing pretend at being ninjas? How come they got to have everything, from cheerful years of training, to a loving family?
“What about you, Hinata?” the blonde, ponytail girl asks.
“I also didn’t have a choice,” she says, almost too low to be heard, “it’s a family obligation, and since I’m from the main family...”
Temari gulps the rest of her drink at once and places it on the table, she doesn’t need to order before another comes to replace the empty glass, the good side is that they’re not paying attention to her anymore. The bad side is that they’re all sharing a laugh about their happy and somewhat shared childhood. It’s suffocating to hear that Hinata girl talking about her little sister with such joy when her own brother was on the verge of killing her when they were younger.
She polices herself when drinking the second glass of her shōchū, she plays a little with the ice in her cup with her finger. Each time one of them talks about the way they used to play together, Temari remembers how she could never have any actual friends because of her murderous little brother killing anyone who got too close.
Ino talks about her last mission and how stupid it was to help an old lady with some chores only because she put on the mission that she wasn’t accepting help from any Gēnin, and Temari’s reminded of how her first mission was to interrogate a spy when she was at the ripe age of nine.
Tenten talks about how her mother gifted her a scroll when she became a Gēnin, and Temari remembers how Father made her look at everything he did to extract information in the most efficient way, with begging and gore. How Baki held her in place to watch.
Hinata talks about how sometimes her older cousin was really mean to her when they played, and Temari remembers when she herself had to show Kankuro the best way to interrogate someone.
Another drink is emptied and another one is put in front of her. Sakura looks at her with concerned eyes. Temari shakes her head to wash away her worries.
Sakura then narrates the first time she’s ever got lost in the village and how everyone helped her to find her mother again. How she felt scared and really cold because it was getting dark and she was wearing thin clothes, how she sat in the middle of a sidewalk and just waited, crying, for someone to help her when an old lady found her, and Temari’s transported to when Father left her alone in the middle of the desert at age nine. Temari stayed put for a whole hour until it dawned on her that it was either finding her way back alone or dying. Sakura found her mother after three or four hours and took a warm bath and ate a warm meal, Temari found her village after two nights, her clothes torn apart by her because she needed something to slow the scorpion venom to spread through her blood circulation, famished and thirsty, they made her go to the hospital alone because no one was allowed to touch the heirs.
The next day she became a Gēnin.
Temari gulps the third drink, the server pours a fourth cup—easy money, and she’s drinking way faster than everyone else. He’s stopped by Sakura, Temari frowns as she sees her doing subtle, negative motions to him.
“You Konoha ninjas have it way too easy,” Temari’s voice booms, she slams the table and what was once bustling with laughter is now stunned eyes looking at Temari’s red face. She raises from her seat and walks out, “you’re way too soft.”
She stumbles her way through the path back to her lodging. She doesn’t sense Sakura coming after her. But Sakura does come after her, Temari’s just too inebriated to notice. She’s stopped by her friend’s hand forcefully gripping her wrist.
“Tem, are you okay?”
Temari has a lapse of sobriety, she inhales deeply before answering, “I’m fine,” calmly, she puts her hand over Sakura’s and pries the girl’s hand off, “I just had too much to drink, it’s best I get some sleep. Tell your friends I said sorry.”
Sakura lets her go as Temari makes her way to her lodging room. She’s feeling miserable for herself, and even more miserable that she doesn’t know if it’s because she lost her temper in front of other people, or if it’s from remembering too much, or if it’s from hatred.
She goes to sleep with her head pounding and her eyes spinning. She’s also getting soft with her liquor resistance.
5.
In the heat of the moment, after her last encounter with Temari, Sakura asked to be excused from her escort duties. Tsunade, at the time, asked why with arched eyebrows. Sakura answered that it was because this kind of job is really distracting and she wanted to focus on being a medic. Tsunade agreed with a dash of scepticism.
It’s expected, then, to see Temari walking around Konoha with Shikamaru trailing her every move. It should be a given, she gave up on the job. However, every time Temari comes back to Konoha and it’s Shikamaru doing the job, Sakura feels strange. It’s happened five times already. Not that she’s counting.
She can’t help it, though, how she feels it bubbling in her stomach and eating her from inside each time she sees her. Temari called the whole village soft and easy life, she doesn’t even know a sixth of what everyone has been through. Temari doesn't know what Sakura herself has been through with some missions.
Temari and Shikamaru are comfortable with each other, just like she was with Temari before her first time in Suna. They stay mostly in silence, but Sakura recognizes Temari’s comfortable with this dynamic.
“Hey, Sakura,” Shikamaru greets her as she passes their table, “did you have lunch already?”
Her eyes jump from Shikamaru to Temari. If Shikamaru knows anything—which he must know, the Hidden Leaf is small, the news travels fast, especially when Ino sees everything—, he doesn’t show it, deciding to remain impassive in front of both girls. Temari has her hair down and her skin is glowing, has she started wearing makeup?
“Shikamaru, Temari,” she greets with a respectful bow, “I was on my way to eat.”
Temari only gives her a nod. Sakura feels her chest burning.
“Wanna join us?” Shikamaru asks, he pulls out one of the two vacant chairs for her to sit, “We haven’t ordered anything yet.”
Sakura looks at Temari for a reaction, anything, but she remains nonchalant, not even bothering to look when Sakura’s speaking. With a scoff, Sakura sits between them.
It’s only Shikamaru who’s trying to talk, “Were you training or on your shift?” he asks.
“Training with Ino and Hinata,” she answers, every few seconds Sakura looks at Temari for some kind of reaction, Sakura frowns and looks away out of pettiness, “what about you, Shikamaru, what’re you doing now?”
He shrugs his shoulders, “Escort mission, your mission.”
She laughs, a little bit forced, and holds herself from looking at Temari. The older woman’s nonchalance and unbothered way enrages Sakura so much, she feels like screaming and punching. They’re going back to the first time they’ve met, Sakura trying to be courteous and Temari not giving a shit.
“And you, Temari,” Sakura starts, she doesn’t look at her, paying attention to the menu instead, “what brings you to Konoha again?”
“Sand Village business,” answers Temari.
Shikamaru, then, calls the server and they all eat in complete silence, Shikamaru’s nervous under his uncaring face or something like that, Sakura’s enraged, and Temari’s unreadable.
“Sakura, you’re to come with us, actually,” Shikamaru says as they gather their belongings.
“Why?”
“Tsunade’s orders,” he explains, “not really a choice.”
Thus, they walk together in complete silence. Shikamaru knocks on the door and opens it on command, the two women enter the first, he stays a little behind, close to the exit. Temari greets Tsunade respectfully and places the report on Tsunade’s table.
“There’s a crisis in the Sand Country,” she says, “we need medical aid, our hospitals are full and we don’t know the cause.”
“I’ve received the message,” Tsunade confirms, “How long has this crisis been going on?”
“About a week,” Temari answers, “it started small with the village’s Gēnin, but now it’s almost everyone.”
Tsunade opens the folder and her eyes glazes through it rapidly, “Any other detail you have to tell?”
“The Kazekage and I believe it’s a planned attack on us—” she says.
“Sakura,” the Hokage interrupts with a raised hand. Temari, for the first time since their last talk, looks directly at her, “pack your things, you’re to meet Temari at the gates and head to Suna tomorrow before sunrise. Shikamaru, Sakura, You’re both dismissed, I need to talk with Temari alone. And close the door.”
Sakura does as she said, though curiosity gnaws at her insides.
+1.
After they both have left the building, Tsunade motions for Temari to continue.
“It can be a planned attack.”
“Why?”
Temari approaches the Hokage’s desk and opens the report on the last page. Multiple little images are lined up with minimal information, “they’re all ninjas, only ninjas are getting sick from this disease. It doesn’t seem to be contagious, but it’s spreading fast and to specific people.”
“And tell me,” Tsunade crosses her arms skeptically, “why must I put my best medical kunoichi in danger to help another village?”
“Because as much as the Wind Country is indebted with the Fire Country, we are loyal,” Temari argues, “and we also fear that this disease won’t stay in Suna only. It might be the first step because we’re the country with the least amount of trained ninjas.”
Tsunade stamps the file, then another paper, “It’s agreed, then. But I must ask, why must it be Sakura?”
“She knows the desert a little bit,” it’s an excuse, but at least it’s a good one, “Sakura knows our customs from the time we spent together, she’s also the only Konoha medic that’s ever been to Suna. She’s the best option.”
Tsunade nods and dismisses her. Temari goes straight to her lodgings, she wants to sleep as soon as she can, even if it’s an hour too early to sleep; although the street’s silent, everything seems to keep her awake, from the sound of the wind passing through her open window to the person sleeping upstairs walking around barefeet. The sounds echo through the walls to the insides of her skull, she doesn’t know when she got some sleep, she doesn’t even know if she had some actual rest.
She wakes more tired than she was when she went to sleep, her eyes almost don’t open when the sun comes up, she does make an effort, though. Temari grabs her stuff and rushes to the village’s gates. Sakura happens to be waiting for her, ready for the trip, when Temari arrives.
“Which way are we taking?” she asks.
“The same as last time . We need to hurry, the sooner the better.”
Sakura nods and they travel silently. At the same forest to desert transition spot from the first and last time they went to Suna together, Sakura takes a small bottle filled with certainly not water and she pours all of its content on the ground. Temari watches, impressed and in awe.
“You’d be a good kunoichi from the Sand,” she says.
Sakura closes the bottle and returns it to her travel bag. Sakura follows Temari’s cue, both of them adjust their forehead bandana and cover their mouth and nose with a cloth for sand protection.
“Is this your way of apologizing?” asks Sakura.
She doesn’t respond.
They don’t talk for the rest of the journey.
“Princess!, you’re back!” says the only person—a child, actually, she doesn't look a day older than eleven—guarding the village’s gates, “Prince Kazekage is waiting for you at the hospital.”
Temari sees Sakura flinching every time they’re addressed with titles, any other moment Temari would feel the need to tease, not the time, though, it’s hard to be her normal self when Temari feels she might lash out and bite physically the first person who comes in her way.
Almost every Suna ninja is in the hospital, they’re crowding every bed, chair and corridor. They don’t seem sick, they don’t show any coughing. They encounter Gaara in one of the hospital corridors, he orders Sakura to go to their house to find Kankuro, and orders Temari to guide her. The day flies by with Sakura helping whatever she can with Kankuro—according to him, it’s closer to poisoning or venom rather than a disease—and Temari rushing to Gaara’s aid.
By dinner time, her brothers invite Sakura to eat with them, she tries to refuse but Gaara hits her with a “Kazekage’s orders” joke which, by his delivery tone, doesn’t seem much like a joke. Sakura agrees, rather begrudgingly Temari might say.
Kankuro cooks for them, Temari and Gaara clean after the meal. Sakura stays put on the table alongside her brother, they seem to be getting along well from spending the whole day together. Temari can’t help but stare.
Gaara puts a wet hand on her shoulder to grab her attention. He’s wearing this awful flowery apron Kankuro and Temari gave to him as a mock-gift on his last birthday, “You can rest for the night.”
“You still have work to do, I can help you.”
“You don’t need to,” he goes back to washing the dishes and gives Temari a plate for her to dry, “You’ve been traveling for four days straight, did you rest?”
“I rested enough.”
“You’re dismissed,” he finishes, “go spend time with Sakura. She’ll be here for a while.”
“Only until the whole deal is fixed. Then she goes back to her home.”
Gaara smiles at her and hands all of the four forks to dry, “I don’t think so.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s here alone this time,” he closes the faucet and dries his hands on the towel Temari’s holding, “maybe she’ll want to stay longer to visit. Kankuro said this whole ordeal is almost done, we just need to find an antidote, maybe.”
“I’ll be too busy to show her around. You’ll need my help.”
“You helped a lot already, you can rest.”
Temari frowns, “There’s still work to do, it’s still too early.”
There’s something Temari learned through the years, even though she can’t read Gaara’s expression, not even a little bit—she feels hurt a bit, Kankuro can understand their youngest brother as well as he can understand Temari, and yet she has problems reading Gaara. He’s looking impassively at her, and Temari, maybe as a defensive mechanism, frowns even more and stares aggressively at him. Gaara doesn’t flinch, not even a little.
“You’re too tired to be helpful,” he says, “you’ll be more of a burden to me and Kankuro than of help. Think of it as an order. I’m the Kazekage.”
“I’ll go to my room, then,” she says, angry enough to throw the towel onto the sink, she leaves the room with heavy steps albeit trying to feign calm, “goodnight.”
Temari fixes her hair and takes out her own apron, she says goodnight for both Kankuro and Sakura. Ascending the stairs past the rooms’ floor, Temari finds herself staring at the cloudy sky for quite some time.
The door opens. Temari doesn’t look, but she hears the person opening a second mat and placing it beside her, joining Temari by laying on the ground. Silence, Temari doesn’t want to talk, but she must know why Sakura’s here with her, wrapped around one of Gaara’s throw blankets and with Kankuro’s slippers.
“Your brother invited me to stay at the guest room here,” Sakura says. Temari looks at her, her anxiousness masked by impassiveness. Sakura continues, “should I accept?”
“Do you want to accept?”
Sakura huffs and rolls her eyes, “Do you want me to accept?”
“It’s your choice.”
“It’s your house.”
Temari bites her tongue, Sakura can really be frustrating when she wants, is this the Naruto-effect she’s heard Shikamaru say once? “You’re free to do whatever you want.”
“Then, I’ll go back to Konoha tomorrow morning.”
Temarri, baffled, turns to look at the other girl, “You’re on a mission,” she says harshly.
“I’m free to do whatever I want,” Sakura retorts just as brutally.
“Why did you accept the mission, then?” She drops her gaze and goes back to staring at the heavy clouds in the night sky.
“Oh my God, Temari, you’re just so! Ugh.”
“So what?”
“Kankuro warned me you’ve been moody the last few months.”
“You’re best friends with my brother, now?” She rolls her eyes, “I’m always moody to him.”
Sakura chooses to look where Temari’s looking, and the silence stretches for some time.
“How was your childhood?” she finally asks.
Temari decides to be sincere this time, “It was turbulent,” she sits on the mat and stares at Suna’s buildings. Sakura follows her.
“How turbulent?” Sakura asks.
“What do you think of the Sand ninjas?”
“In general?”
“In general.”
“It’s very dry here,” she starts, “why does everyone look on edge?”
“Harsh conditions demand harsh personalities,” Temari answers, “Everything affects us, sometimes sandstorms destroy some of the buildings, other times we have scorpion invasion. Someone dreaming of being a ninja here is rare, most of the time people are just obligated by law.”
“The Kazekage forces people to become ninjas here?”
“The Wind Daimyo does. I tried to stop this when I was Kazekage.”
“Did you manage to?”
“No,” Temari turns to look at Sakura, “I was the worst Kazekage according to the council, too soft to be one. Funny, no? I’ve been ready to be a Kazekage ever since I started training, and I wasn’t even a good one”
“How could you have been the worst when your father—” Sakura stops when Temari raises her brows, “Sorry.”
“Don’t be,” she reassures, “Father was… someone. He did some terrible things for the village, to his family; but everyone regards him as a good kage, anyone older than me will say he was the best one to this day. The best generation of Sand ninjas came from his ways, after all.”
“Like you?”
“Like me.”
Sakura laughs, “Humble much?”
Temari laughs along, “If I was humble, I’d never have survived here.”
“In Suna?”
“In my family.”
Sakura stays silent, waiting for a continuation.
“I was the first Princess of Suna, I was raised to be the best at everything, and I am, don’t get me wrong. I was also the example to everything.”
“Example?”
“How can I explain…” Temari comes closer to Sakura, “I had to do everything, good or bad, if a child survived from scorpion venom, I also should be able to survive scorpion venom.”
Exasperated, Sakura puts her hand over Temari’s, “You had to drink scorpion venom?!”
“No, I didn’t,” Temari laughs. She does nothing to move her hand away, “Just an example. But I think everyone in Suna was bitten at least once in their lives.”
“You too?”
“Me too, it’s really hard to avoid them.”
Sakura squeezes her hand a little and scoots closer, their foreheads touch and Temari can only stare at Sakura’s lips.
“Sakura, have you ever seen a storm in the desert?”
The girl tilts her head, “A sandstorm?”
“No, a storm, a rainstorm.”
“Does it rain in the desert?”
“Tomorrow will, maybe,” Temari interlaces their fingers, “You’re lucky.”
“Why? What’s the difference between rain in Konoha and rain in Suna?”
“Everything,” Temari tilts her head, but it’s Sakura who goes for the kiss. Temari closes her eyes and breathes in Sakura’s flowery scent. Everyone in Konoha smells similar, but it matches Sakura the most. The kiss finishes and so Temari continues, “Rain in the desert is frighteningly beautiful.”
They kiss again. Longer this time, Sakura’s hand holds Temari by her neck, she sets the pace and stops only to ask: “And why am I lucky?”
“Because people can go a lifetime without seeing a desert storm.”
“Have you seen one?”
“Three in three different deserts, never here in Suna.”
Another kiss, faster this time.
“And why is it frightening and beautiful?”
“Because it’s unavoidable when it happens and there’s nowhere to run,” softly, they kiss again, “it floods everything and destroys all fauna and flora. Beautifully frightening.”
“Will everyone be safe tomorrow, then?”
“Yes, I’ll gather all wind users to store the water,” Temari looks back at the sky, they’re completely touching now, “It’s the most important event of a lifetime to see it.”