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[dangerouswind]

[Community building one. Fourth floor. Early evening. A door slams.

Once. Twice. Three times, each time with a little more force. Finally, a thud and wood cracking; she's punched a wall. There's a crash inside one of the apartments - ceramic against a wall, then falling to the floor. Temari leaves the apartment, leaves the door open, and stalks away.

She's going for a walk.

Just inside her apartment door, a plant lies neglected in a pile of dirt and shattered ceramic.

She spends some time just outside the village, using a tree as a sparring partner. She, at least, has enough sense to not actually connect with the rough bark, but it makes a good enough target to throw a few punches toward. She wants nothing more than to beat something - someone - to a damned pulp, but what is she going to do but live with it?

It's later - hours later - that she makes her way to the Memory Garden. There, physically weary and emotionally strung out, she sits in front of the plants she's tended for so long. Wildflowers are ringed by bright, fiery desert blooms; in front of the small plot is a stone etched with kanji. Beside the stone, she sets one glass bead: a reminder of Kankurou's (second) time in Luceti. The bead will be blown away by the wind, lost to the elements eventually. She knows it; still leaves it there.

That night, she'll go home. Clean up her mess. Start living life again.]

Comments

[endgames]

Don't. [He doesn't speak until she begins wiping her tears.] Don't feel ashamed.

[dangerouswind]

[Easy for you to say, crybaby. There are a million things she should say and a million more she could. None of it comes to light, not yet.

There's too much thinking to do. She turns her head just enough to look at him. Her voice is a little rough.] You gonna tell me I'm not alone, too? Because really. It's been pounded into my head all day. [There's nothing belligerent in her tone. She knows what they're saying, she gets it, she even appreciates it... but it's been about the only thing she's heard.]

[endgames]

[He shakes his head.] You'd still feel that way. Other than sitting beside you, there's nothing I can do about that.

[And he holds her hand a little tighter, before saying the next thing.]

You've done a good job of trying to convince me otherwise, but it's all right. To cry, and be upset, that is.

[dangerouswind]

[You know what, though? Sitting beside her is probably better than any words thrown her way today. It's almost alarming to her how much she just wants him to sit there with her for awhile.]

Tell that to Kankuro. [She can't shake the feeling that he'd be ashamed of her.] I'd almost gotten used to not having them around when he showed up. [A pause, because this is what she's ashamed of. Not the tears. Not being upset. She never tried to re-establish that connection while he was here.] Hadn't even really figured out how to live with him again before he was gone.

[endgames]

If he'd known what people go through, when they're here for so long, he'd understand. Far as I know, he didn't ask, so it's a miscommunication that goes both ways.

Not that I'm gonna blame him for that. There's nothing to blame.

[It just happens. All the time, it happens.]

[dangerouswind]

[She sighs, folding one hand over her knees, and looks out over the water.] That's the problem.

[There's nothing to blame -- so how can she fight it?]

[endgames]

[He lets go of her other hand now. Released, but not straying far from beside hers.]

That's life. It's not unique to here.

[dangerouswind]

Still a problem anywhere. [If she can hit it with her fan, then she can deal with it. If not...

... Well. Obviously, she has a little trouble with that.]

[endgames]

[He gives her what he hopes is a tender look.] If it's a problem, solve it. You're smart enough to know you don't need your fan for everything.

[dangerouswind]

[She does soften a bit in the face of that particular look.] Easier with the fan.

[endgames]

And they say I'm the lazy one.

[dangerouswind]

[Her answer is a snort.

After a few beats of silence:] I should go back.

[endgames]

Your apartment's fixed up.

[dangerouswind]

[She looks up at him, surprise registering on her face before it settles into something closer to gratitude.] You didn't have to.

[endgames]

It makes it easier on you.

[dangerouswind]

[She almost tells him that she didn't need it; she can take care of herself.

But maybe she can't. That's part of what drove her out here.] Thanks.

[endgames]

[Don't worry about it, is what he wants to say, but gratitude from Temari is a rare, rare thing. He hums quietly, accepting it.]

I'll walk you back.

[dangerouswind]

Yeah. Yeah, let's go back. [It's not really want she wants to do, but...

...well, what else is there?]