IN PURSUIT OF LADY TEMARI'S CONSORT

Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto-sensei owns Uzumaki Naruto & Company. I'm just a newbie, have much to learn and owns an average life.

Author's Note: This is my latest attempt in writing a fan fiction on So, minna-san, please be kind and I'm looking forward to receive constructive criticisms and ideas, and no flames please! I'm emotionally incapable of receiving any heartless remarks. - Hope you'd give this story a shot….alrite? Read & Review, please?

Summary: Years passed by, and according to the wills of the late Kazekage, Temari should be wed to a noble and compatible ninja when she reached her 17th birthday. Will she let her brothers do the choosing, with each of them already had their own choice of potential future "brother-in-law" or, she will let her heart decide for her?

(Takes place after episode 135 of the anime. Canon Universe. Manga universe not included)

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CHAPTER 2 : A New Impression

The surrounding in the hospital room was quite dull and silent until laughter broke out between a patient and his visitor.

"I badly wanted to see your face when you stabbed yourself….ha-ha" Kankurou said, muffled between his laughter.

"Hah…in your dreams, man" Kiba said, while making a pointing gesture with his hands. He was lying on the bed, with most of his body got wrapped up in bandages. He too, tried very hard to contain his laughter, mainly because of the pain on his abs.

"But I was impressed with how you made an appearance though. I thought that one of the twin freaks would be messing up with your cells. Using Kuroari as you in disguise was actually…I hate to say this, but brilliant." Kiba said. "Anyway, I believe I do owe you a thanks for saving our lives. I don't give a damn about myself, but Akamaru is much more important than anything."

Kankurou just nodded in response. "No problem, Inuzuka. You should consider getting stronger next time. I won't be there to keep saving your ass." And, he let out a deep chuckle.

Kiba's eyes twitched with annoyance. "When I get out from this room, we are so gonna fight!"

"Bring it on." The Sand puppet master replied, with a grin on his Kabuki-painted face.

"Why you..." Kiba launched towards the smirking Kankurou with hands ready to strangle him to death. Unfortunately, his abs hurt so much; he ended up falling ungraciously to the floor.

"Kankurou!" A female voice blasted throughout the room. Kankurou sweat-dropped, knowing that the owner of the voice is none other than his older sister. 'Oh boy, here comes the megaphone' Kankurou muttered under his breath, while giving his sister a silly grin.

"Hi sis! What's up?"

"What's up? You're asking me what's up!" Temari cried. She dashed towards Kankurou who is standing at one corner and smacked him at the back of his head, hard.

"Itei…" Kankurou wailed, holding his head. Oh, the agony of having an older sister.

"Stop harassing the poor boy. Can't you see he's all wrapped up?" Temari said in her protective sister tone, calmer than before as she made her step towards the injured Kiba, lying sprawled on the floor. She slowly and gently held Kiba on his right arm, supporting him from falling again.

Kiba's head dropped down in pain. When he felt a pair of feminine arms grabbed a hold on his right one, all he could see was a pair of smooth legs. He slowly looked up. He saw a pair of smooth thighs clad in a tight dark blue skirt, with a medium length of mesh material wrapping tight at her left ones and another one on the lower right. He suddenly blushed, knowing that he's staring into a girl's legs.

'Oh, wait. If this is Kankurou's sister, than she must be Temari.' Kiba pondered with his eyes closed. At that exact same moment, a visual of a stoic, sarcastic, aloof and a serious looking Temari suddenly popped into the box of his mind.

"Are you okay?" Temari said, as she helped Kiba back to his place on the bed.

Kiba opened his eyes and he was stunned to find them gazing straight into a pair of dark, alluring turquoise eyes. Temari gave him a very sincere smile. The picture he received was quite contrary to the one that he was having before.

"Beautiful…" Kiba muttered slowly under his breath, subconsciously.

"What? Sorry…I couldn't really catch what you were saying just now. Are you hurt somewhere?" Temari asked the dark brown-haired nin, concern was vividly displayed on her eyes.

"Err…ehmm…" Kiba stuttered. He was speechless all of a sudden.

"Kiba-san, right?"

"Ehmm…" Kiba could do nothing, but nodded.

With her hands still clutching on Kiba's arm, she said again, "I'm sorry about my brother. He could be such an ass sometimes" She glared at Kankurou, who is now sitting on another bed next to Kiba's, crossing his arms while pouting his lips. "Spoilt brat" Temari mumbled.

"How's Akamaru?" She asked the stunned Kiba, who is now blushing at the close physical contact between them. 'I thought he got hurt in the abs. Or, did he get hit on the head or something?' Temari wondered silently. Her eyes blinking questioningly at the now flushing boy.

Before Kiba could answer, Kankurou butt in. "Yo, sis. I think you should let go of his hand. It could be that you're blocking his blood circulation or something. You see, he's turning purple."

"What?" She looked at Kiba, and realizing that Kiba maybe uncomfortable, she quickly let her hands go. "Sorry" She grinned, coyly brushing a few of her golden bangs aside. Kiba only stared at her in admiration.

Temari, realizing that Kiba is gazing intently on her, couldn't help but feel embarrassed. In reflex, she quickly found another target to look at, so as to avoid her from looking back into his face. And her eyes had settled on a white dog, laid motionless on a small, white cloth-covered basket.

She gently touched Akamaru on its head, and gently stroking it. "How is he doing?" She asked, her gaze still fixed on the dog.

"Oh, my sister said that he won't be walking for awhile. All the muscles on his arms and legs were badly damaged." Kiba said. He put his hands behind his head, and leant against the bedpost. "Other than that, Akamaru's one fine dog." He grinned at Temari.

"I see" Temari said. "Well, I hope you get well soon, Akamaru." She said, while stroking Akamaru gently, carefully avoiding its injuries. "And you too, Akamaru's owner" She smiled at Kiba as she stood up. Kiba couldn't help but grinned bashfully at Temari.

So, she made her way towards the door and just as she was about to walk out, she turned her head around towards Kiba and asked, "Anou…Has anyone giving you a visit before us?"

"Ermm…well, my sister was the lucky number one, followed by you guys. Why?"

Hearing his answers, Temari felt slightly disappointed because that surely means Shikamaru hasn't been here yet.

"Aa…nothing. I was just wondering," She responded half-heartedly instead. "Well, I need to go somewhere else, I'll see you guys later. Kankurou, you better not giving Kiba a hard time." She gave her brother the warning sign before disappearing behind the closed door.

Kiba was still staring at the door, with an enthralled expression on his face. 'She's so different. Nicer and beautiful, yeah, more beautiful' he talked to himself.

"If I didn't know better, I think that you're flirting with my sister." Kankurou said, with a questioning look on his face and his right eyebrow arched in curiosity.

Kiba, realizing that Kankurou was still inside the room, suddenly shook his thoughts away. "What? Me? Hitting on your sister? Tskk…no way. " He said, trying vehemently to conceal the real truth behind his own words.

"Yeah, right." Kankurou smirked. "But, you're not the only one though."

"Huh?"

"You're not the only one who seemed to be attracted to her. I have to admit. In just a few months, Temari had grown more matured, refined or I could put in another word… desirable."

Kiba could only nod in understanding, although deep inside, he couldn't be more than agreed with the puppet master.

"She'll be turning seventeen in two months time. In Sunagakure, there was an old belief that a maiden who reached the age of seventeen means she has come of age to be wedded to a noble man. However, it was long forgotten by the people of the Sand Village. Well, if we were from an ordinary family, I guess it wouldn't be much of a problem anyway."

"Why?"

"Being the only daughter of the Fourth Kazekage seems to be giving pressure on her. She even got her first proposal when she was fifteen and it continues on until we came here for the Chuunin exams. And just last week, she turned down three proposals from three countries."

"Why did she turn them down? Is it because she wanted to concentrate on her training or something else?" Kiba inquired, obviously interested on the matter concerning Kankurou's sister.

"Despite of that, I don't even know. But one thing that I do know is my sister may seem to be cranky, bossy and stuck-up" Kankurou laughed at his own description of his sister. "But, she's still the same as any other girl. Wanting to find the true love kinda crap."

Kiba nodded. But one thing that he really wants to know is what happened if Temari never settled down ever.

Kankurou couldn't help but roared into laughter.

"Now that is classic. With her current attitude, I doubt it would happen. But, as we are the only family members alive, she may choose her suitor on her own or she could give the responsibilities to us. But, in her case, I don't think she has any option to choose on her own."

"What? Why?"

"Er…" Kankurou bit his tongue. He realized that he nearly blurted out his family's secret. "Forget it. It was nothing."

"Okay…" Kiba stared into blank space, digesting the information he received from Kankurou. "Wow."

"I know."

"Heheh…can she really trust your judgment in choosing her a husband."

"Nope. I'm not exactly gonna be the one who do the choosing"

"Then who?"

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Shikamaru yawned lazily as he lay on the floor on the rooftop of the hospital. With arms crossed under his head, cloud gazing had always been more than his hobby. It had become a remedy to release all the pressure and tension that he endured during the times after he started his training to become a shinobi.

He used to go cloud watching sometimes alone but most of the time with his best buddy Chouji, but right now, Chouji is still resting in the ward. Shikamaru couldn't be that grateful when Tsunade-sama told him that Chouji's condition is stable. Still, cloud watching could never be fun doing it alone. However, the day had retired and the sky had turned into a canvas of dark purple as countless of stars were present, surrounding the beautiful full moon.

The surrounding gave out an ambience of tranquility. Just what Shikamaru thought he needed. 'Stargazing wasn't such a bad idea after all.' The 15 years-old teenager mused to himself.

"It seems that someone has finally come back to his old self" A figure spoke from behind.

Shikamaru wondered where that voice came from. He was about to turn his head around, when the figure took a few steps forward and right now was standing near his head. He looked up and was surprised to see Temari's face smiling down at him.

"Surprise to see me?"

"Well, yeah." Shikamaru said, coolly. He then fixed his gaze to one of the stars in front further from her direction. He was afraid that if Temari took a step forward, he might just get a sneak 'preview' underneath her skirt. 'Geez, I don't want to get any other body parts broken again' He quickly whisked away the mental image of Temari sending him flying from the site with one of her whirlwind attacks while screaming "Pervert" at the top of her lungs.

A small, bitter smile gracing her pale, pink lips. Somehow, she just got the feeling that Shikamaru doesn't feel like comfortable, or the least interested in having her presence there. Taking in the wrong assumption, she turned around. Before intending to take her leave, she spoke softly, "I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. I just wanted to see how you were doing. Well…I'm glad that you're being yourself again"

On hearing this, Shikamaru stood up and looked at her "What…"

"I'll just go…and let you mope in your self pity okay?" Temari let out a smirk and she was about to walk away when she heard him say.

"Hey…stargazing couldn't be more fun when having a company"

She couldn't believe her ears and she arched one eyebrow in a questioning manner.

"What is it, Mr. Crybaby?"

She turned her head around and saw the usual scowl on his face had turned into a smirk. She bit her lips subconsciously, as she waited for his response. Shikamaru tilted his head to the spot beside him. "I could use some company right now, even though you're one troublesome girl"

She felt her heart lifted a little. She made her way to take the spot beside him. She was thinking of pushing his buttons again by teasing him once more, just to see how strong his iron will of temper control is. But, then again right now, silence could have never been a better option.

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Kiba

'She's way too different than before. Soft-spoken, caring and yet more fascinating. A new impression worthy of knowing.'

To Be Continued……

End Of Chapter 2

A/N: There you go..heheh. I'm not sure what is gonna happen next, but please, dear readers, I'd love to hear from you guys. What do you want to happen next? Who do you think are the potential suitors for Temari? Don't hesitate to tell me okay? See ya next time!