What It Takes To Win the Game

Prologue

A/N: Hello all! I'm back with a sequel to What it Takes to Make Her Smile. If you haven't read that one, I highly suggest you go read it first.

I decided to the 'fairy business' story. I may or may not ever do the Ino/Sasuke story. Who knows?

"I'm going to kill you!" Kankurou snarled, attempting to jump through the table to get at the somewhat gangly human.

The human backed away nervously. "Oh, come now! I didn't mean it that way! That was an accident, I swear!"

"Accident, my ass, human!" Kankurou, seeing that the table was actually impeding him from reaching the dark haired man, settled instead for running around the table to get to the human. Shikamaru on the other hand, had no intention of getting caught, so he instead ran around the table in the direction opposite of Kankurou. "Stop moving!" Kankurou snarled.

"Right, that would be a smart course of action!" Shikamaru said sarcastically.

"If either of you two break something, I'll break you both." A blonde sitting at the table the two males were currently running around threatened calmly. She sipped something out of a porcelain cup serenely, as if the sight of the two males attempting to kill each other were a commonplace occurrence.

Sad as it were to say, such a thing was a very commonplace occurrence in their household.

"If you break me," the dark haired human explained slightly out of breath, "I can't be put back together. In fact, if he breaks me I can't be put back together!"

"Shame." She dismissed his words easily, her wings perfectly still.

"Are they at it again?" A new voice sighed. Not awaiting a response, most likely because he would not receive one, the bloody-haired man made a slight motion with his hands causing sand to slide in from the windowsill and wrap around both the running males stopping them in their place just as Kankurou was an inch away from being close enough to effectively wallop Shikamaru.

"You're up late!" Shikamaru accused in a panic. "He could've killed me, Gaara!"

"I doubt," He muttered, "Temari really would have let him kill you. Perhaps bruise you. At most break your arm and that's if she was too slow to respond, but definitely not kill you."

"As comforting as the thought of having only a broken arm sounds, I'd rather not be harmed or maimed in any way whatsoever." Shikamaru muttered in an affront.

"Perhaps," Temari raised her eyes from the rim of her cup to him, "If you stopped experimenting on him, situations such as this would not occur anymore."

"I was not experimenting, per say…" Shikamaru grumbled.

"I had an extra arm this morning!" Kankurou snarled.

Despite the fact that Kankurou was rooted to the ground, Shikamaru leant back as far as he could, afraid the fairy would magically jump from his bind on the floor and launch at him. "How do you know that was my doing? What if your body just magically decided to give you an extra arm?"

"So you said 'Oops, I'm sorry, that wasn't supposed to happen' because it was nature's doing!?"

Shikamaru blinked. "Saying 'yes' would make me sound really stupid, right now, so I'll just say that, well, you have two arms now, don't you?"

Temari smacked her lips just as Kankurou let out a stream of obscenities. Setting her tea cup down on the table she eyed the two grounded males before her. "Mm, Gaara, you mind letting Shikamaru go?"

The redhead took a seat at the table, a purple fruit in his hands. "Why?" He bit the fruit calmly.

"I'm bored." Temari shrugged.

Gaara flicked his left hand slightly and the sand rooting Shikamaru to the ground released immediately.

"This isn't fair!" Kankurou complained. "He gives me an extra arm and I have to stay stuck the ground?!"

Gaara munched his food slowly. "If I let you go, will you still try to kill him?"

"Yes." He sneered matter-of-factly.

"Then, yes, you do have to stay stuck to the ground."

Shikamaru shook some stray sand from his pants in annoyance. "No matter how many times you do that I never get used to it." He still hadn't finished when Temari's hands draped around his neck and she stretched up to touch his lips with her own.

Kankurou made some gagging sounds and bold-faced comments on the atrociousness of their relationship. Gaara ignored them completely. "Hell, if that's all you wanted to do, you could've done that with him rooted to the floor." He muttered.

Shikamaru felt himself melting in his blonde fairy's embrace as her tongue swerved in his own mouth in dominance. He would easily cave to any of his princess's desires.

All four members of the household started as a loud bang reached all their ears. Temari's wings began twitching nervously. "Gaara, what was that?"

She didn't have to await a response as a tall imposing fairy entered the room. He was solid as a tree, had a gouging gaze, had thin raking fingers, was shrouded in a nature-like substance that spread across his earthen skin, and half of his face was covered in the same earthy material so that only one side of his face was really visible.

"'The hell are you doing in our house?" Kankurou snarled furiously.

While Gaara and Temari did not say a word, they too felt just as angry at the tree-like man's arrival.

The large man nodded, "Kankurou, Gaara, Temari," An unusual smile worked its way across his lips, "Nice to see you again."

Temari's wings wouldn't stop fluttering in a cross between anger and fear. Shikamaru immediately understanding the ill-boding situation, shifted slightly behind Temari and instead of speaking focused on analyzing the situation. He figured new fairies wouldn't be quite so receptive and understanding about him.

"Baki, what the hell do you want?" Kankurou snarled again, taking a step towards the tall man.

"It isn't so much as what I want, as what the council wants."

"We don't give a crap for the council." Temari snapped, "Now get out before we hurt you."

"Sorry, I can't follow your demands, Temari." His smile fell, "I'm under strict orders. Plus," he waved his hands to the window, "If you'd care to see, I have people to force you do to what is necessary if you refuse."

The four inhabitants of the household glanced quickly outside the window. True to his word, a large collection of fairies awaited below. Most of them seeming bored and heavily vicious. Temari gritted her teeth together in anger. Kankurou's fists curled in cold fury.

Gaara pushed away from the table and faced the tall man directly. "Very well, Baki, what is it that the council desires?" If Shikamaru didn't know any better he would say that it almost seemed like Gaara wanted to talk to the council – whatever they were.

"I'm glad to see one of you has acquired a civil tongue and smart mind." His eyes flicked to Shikamaru. "The council has serious questions and concerns over your recent…household addition." He paused. "The council wants you all to report to the command center where they'll discuss it and the problems it poses."

Shikamaru absently realized he was the 'it' in question. How nice. He was now demoted to an 'it'.

Temari shifted in front of Shikamaru. "What does that mean exactly?"

Baki smiled genuinely. "Because I feel you three have been cheated in the past, I'll give it to you straight. I'll give you what they don't really want you to know just yet."

"Well, spit it out!" Temari demanded.

"Temari!" Gaara snapped in warning. "Silence."

"Amusing." Baki uttered at the brief interaction. Face sobering, he looked Gaara directly in the eye. "They want the human dead."

Shikamaru swallowed. Well that was a brilliant way to start the day.

A wave of uncertainty and despair settled among the four inhabitants. Temari began to hyperventilate. "This is bad." Kankurou looked just about ready to rip someone piece from piece, and even Gaara looked upset and perturbed by the news. "This is very bad." Temari repeated.

And then she fainted.

A/N: First, I have to say, you guys are all awesome reviewers, truly, but I have to say that I dedicate this sequel to Amnesty and ContheDistance who both helped (I think it was unintentional on both their parts –shrug– ) spur the idea for this sequel. Oh, and for Linorria, who like me also loves and expects happy endings. (This one won't disappoint, I hope.)

I'll try to update at least once every two weeks.