One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Onyx eyes fluttered open, shutting almost immediately because of the sun pouring in through the east-facing window. The sun was just rising and, having a internal clock timed to the sun's activities, Tenmai was wide awake. Sitting up, she stretched her arms above her head before facing the other laying on the bed next to her. Gaara was sound asleep, chest and torso bare, arm slung over Tenmai's hips. Her own shirt was somewhere around the room, her chest being covered by only a simple tube top, which was starting to slide down a bit.
Gaara had a serene look on his face, his lips relaxed, partly open, not in his usual scowl. Since the night Tenmai sang to him in his office, he has been making himself comfortable in her bed every night, only being able to sleep deeply with her beside him. Resting on her left elbow, Tenmai ran her fingertips up and down his cheek, up over his 'ai' scar, and through his hair. Her physical musing caused the young Kazekage to awaken from his slumber and regard her with tired eyes.
“How do you wake up so early?” he mumbled, face half buried in the pillow.
“To tell you the truth, I don't know. Time to wake up, Panda-chan, you have a meeting this morning and Temari and I have a date with a kimono maker.”
“Don't remind me. You do understand that when we are married you have to sit in at these meetings as well.”
“Don't remind me.” she mocked, smiling. “Come on, up and at it, Gaara.”
Tenmai reached her hands under his back and pulled him up into a half-sitting, half-leaning position. Having not been able to sleep all his life, whenever he can, Gaara sleeps for as long as possible, a thing Tenmai hates. Dragging him out of bed, she pushed him into her bathroom, yelling for him to wash while she got him a change of clothes. He had his own official drawer in her room, complete with undergarments, regular clothes, and two sets of robes.
The water turned off in the bathroom and Gaara stepped out of the bathroom, one towel being held around his slender hips and another drying his hair. His gaze rose to meet the long, tanned legs of Tenmai. As his gaze traveled up, he noticed her in only a simple strip of cloth that could barely be called underwear. Her toned abs flexed as she turned to face him, the rays coming in the window reflecting off of her piercing. Only her arms covered her chest, giving clear view of her ample cleavage. His eyes went up her neck to her face. She had her earrings in, along with her nose, tongue, lower lip and, to his surprise, eyebrow piercing.
“That one's new.” he pointed out, walking towards her.
“No, I've had it, just didn't put a ring in it.” She gazed into Gaara's eyes, seeing them roam over her body. “Looking at something you like?”
A small stream of blood leaked out of Gaara's left nostril and his hand shot up to it, not realizing it was the hand holding his towel up. The terry cloth fell around his ankles and gave Tenmai a full frontal. Her eyebrow rose at the sight of Gaara in his naked glory (cue fangirl nosebleeds). Walking up to him, she pulled the towel off of his head and wrapped it around his waist, hands resting on his hips.
“Unless you want me to tackle you down to the ground and ravish you,” she hotly whispered in his ear, causing him to shudder from the feeling of her warm breath against the shell of it. “Try and keep your towel on, dear.”
Gaara's eyes widened as they looked down at her exposed chest. The tan mounds teased him and, having never been able to know what one feels like, he ran his available hand up her abdomen, grasping one. She groaned as he rolled it around in his palm. Pushing flush against the man before her, Tenmai devoured his lips in a tantalizing, mind-blowing kiss. Her tongue piercing massaged his tongue, the bar feeling weird, yet...erotic at the same time. His hand remained on her breast, the other wrapping around her waist. Both her arms were wrapped around his shoulders. As she pinned him to the wall by his shoulders, she slid one hand down his chest, rubbing hard against his pectorals, ghosting over his stomach, before pulling his towel off.
Gaara gasped as her hand slowly stroked his growing erection. He groaned as he felt her move her hand in a simultaneous rhythm. He groaned as she touched him in a way no one has before. His own hand played with her breasts, sliding down her side and back up. Tenmai licked Gaara's neck and ear, taking the lobe in between her teeth, running her tongue along the shell and back down. Trailing kisses down his neck and chest, she raked her nails down his side as she licked over his abdomen and down to the throbbing erection in her hand.
She planted small kisses along the top, around the head, and down the underside, before moving back up and taking him into her mouth. A deep, throated grunt came from Gaara's lips as he ran his fingers through her hair. He was in pure bliss. This was the first time someone was ever gotten this close to him without death and he enjoyed the way her pierced tongue swirled around him, bringing him deep into her mouth, swallowing the small pearls of pre-cum. Her left hand ran up and down his thigh as she knelt before him, her left lightly squeezing and rolling his sensitive sack in her hand.
Gaara moaned almost inaudibly as she ran her teeth of the sensitive tip. Grasping her hair, he pulled her away, letting his primal instincts take over. She smirked as he pushed her down onto the ground, tearing away her underwear. He fell onto her, kissing her passionately as he ran his rough fingertips over her skin, memorizing every dip and curve. Gazing into her eyes, he saw the lust within them, mirroring his own. Hesitation set in as he paused in his exploring, a surprised look coming to his face.
“What's wrong Gaara?”
“What...is this...feeling?” he grasped his chest. “It's so tight in here, my mind is spinning. I want to feel you, all of you.”
“Then go ahead.”
“But...”
“Gaara, do what ever you please to me. Explore all you want and satisfy your mind and body. I'll let you do what you wish.”
Smiling brightly at him, she kissed him passionately, taking his hands in hers and running them over her body. He followed her lead a bit before taking over, left hand massaging her left breast while his tongue entertained the other. Tenmai moaned softly, causing Gaara was nibble at her, another moan flowing out of her mouth. As she was caught up in his ministrations of her chest, she didn't realize what his right hand was doing until it pushing up against her clit. She pushed down on his hand, causing one of his fingers to enter. Gaara pushed his finger into her heat, watching the pleasing look that came over her face.
Enjoying the look on her face, he slid a second finger into her, causing her to elicit a moan that made his erection twitch in excitement. Pumping his fingers into her, he moved his heated kisses down her stomach and to her clit, licking it as delicately as she had kissed his own sex. A gasp escaped her dry, parted lips as he gently rolled the nub in between his teeth. Grabbing him under his arm, she pulled him up to her eye level, causing his finger to slip out of her, her juices coating his fingers. Rolling over, Tenmai straddled him, his erection pressed against her moist opening painfully. Taking him into her hand, she made to put his hardness into her pulsating heat , but a knock on the door instantly cooled their passion.
Tenmai hurriedly grabbed her clothes, calling out a 'hold on' to the woman on the other side of the door. She grabbed her bra and shirt, threw it on her upper body, and slid her underwear and pants on, before handing Gaara his clothes. Giving him one more hard and passionate kiss, she smiled at him and pushed him into the bathroom to get ready. Walking to the door while running her fingers through her disheveled hair, she opened it to see Temari standing there, a smile on the woman's face. Shikamaru stood behind her, boredom evident on his face.
“Morning Temari. Shikamaru, what are you doing in Suna? Tsunade able to spare you?”
“Yeah, I'm on a mission anyway. Tsunade-sama wanted me to personally deliver this present to you. How troublesome.”
Shikamaru handed her a small, wrapped box, complete with a bow. Taking it from him, Tenmai walked into the room and sat on the bed, Temari joining her while Shikamaru leaned against the wall. The bathroom door opened and Gaara stepped out, fully clothed and a little red from the steam and the bathroom and the encounter he just had with his fiance. Sitting on the bed behind the two, he looked over Tenmai's shoulder as she opened the present in her lap. A scroll was sitting in the box with a golden crest. On the crest was a large bird, bearing resemblance to Aarod, her summoning, and surrounding him were various jewels, each glittering as brightly as the gold. It was rather large, almost the size of her whole hand and weighing almost 5 pounds. On the back were the characters of an old rite Tenmai saw as a child. It was painted onto a parchment framed in her parents room.
“What does it say?” Temari asked, not being able to understand the writing.
“'May the Doctrine forever protect us, the ones of the Kinashimoto line, we the ones who give ourselves to the protection of our Law. The possessor of this crest shall be named and honored as the keeper of the Forbidden Doctrine. When the time comes, they will pass it onto their oldest child or one with whom they trust and respect. Aarod watch over you, keeper of Secrets and Law.'” she paused, looking up at the three around her. “It is written in an old language not spoken or written widely today. This is the crest of the Kinashimoto line, my mother's family. They were called the Keepers.”
“Of what?” Gaara wondered, gazing into her eyes.
“By decree, I cannot tell you anything until we are married. What I can tell you is the Forbidden Doctrine is an old set of laws, not political, per say, but rather laws of the Shinobi and their ways. It is also a powerful collection of jutsus created or gather by my forebears throughout the centuries.”
“What is with the scroll?” he questioned, handing it to her available hand.
“I don't know. The seal is the emblem of my mother's family. It cannot be written recently because I am the only blood Kinashimoto left. This has to be from either my mother or grandfather. They must have written it a long time ago and left it in the care of either Tsunade or an Elder from Takigakure.”
“Are you going to read it?” asked Temari, gazing over at her.
“Not now. You and I have shopping to do and Gaara has his meeting. I can read it tonight.”
Tenmai stood up and placed the scroll on her desk. Passing the crest from hand to hand, she contemplated what do with it. Taking a pouch off of her dresser, she slid the crest into it and placed it in her top drawer, all the way to the back. She turned around and walked over to Gaara, who stood beside her bed. Placing a hand on his chest, she leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his lips.
“Ready to go Temari?” Tenmai asked, pulling away from the Kazekage.
“Yeah, let's go. Shikamaru is coming too.” said Temari, grabbing onto the Nara's hand and pulling him out of the room with her.
“I'll see you later Gaara, maybe I can help you with your paperwork.” she smiled at him before leaning in to whisper in his ear. “Maybe we can continue our little....rendezvous later tonight.”
A blush came to Gaara's race as he looked into her eyes, seriousness in her expression. In response to her statement, he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her flush against him. Taking one of his hands, he ran the pads of his fingers down her cheek and neck, in the valley between breasts, down her taut stomach, and into the junction between her legs. She gasped, eyes widening, as his fingers pressed against her hot core.
“Maybe we can.” he growled into her ear, pulling his hand away.
“Tease.” she scolded, pouting.
Gaara leaned forward and kissed her pouting lips tenderly before pulling away to put his gourd on. Reaching into the pocket of his pants, he withdrew a box that he placed into Tenmai's hand as she straightened out his robes. She looked at the small box curiously.
“To be more traditional.”
“More traditional?” she questioned, opening the box.
She gasped as she took the small ring out of the box. It was simple, nothing extravagant, but the jewels that glittered on it and the inlaid design took her breath away. The gold band was slim and had a small diamond set in the center of rose quartz cheery blossom petals. Small emeralds made up the branch of the flower petals. They reflected the light around them, sending a multitude of colors throughout the room. Tenmai gazed up at Gaara, a bright smile on her face. He took the ring from her hand and placed it on the ring finger of her left hand.
“Happy birthday, Mai-chan.”
Placing a small kiss on her cheek, he smiled faintly at her before a whirlwind of sand whipped around him, transporting him to his office. Tenmai stood in place, the smile still on her face, staring at the spot Gaara just occupied. She remembered telling him that her birthday was today. In just 2 short days, it will be a year since she was reunited with him. Turning around, she grabbed her hooded cloak and ran downstairs to go with Temari and Shikamaru to the kimono shop.

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The three sat at a tea shop, enjoying the warm drink after the 6 hours spent getting fitted for kimonos. Tenmai chose a simple, yet beautiful white kimono. The outer layer of the kimono, the main robe, is pure white with a cherry blossom branch going up the left side to just below the hip. The color matches the engagement ring Gaara gave Tenmai. Tenmai was surprised to learn that Gaara had Temari's help picking it out. The obi of her kimono was the same white color and material of the kimono, but the hiyoku, the under-kimono, is the same pale pink as the cherry blossoms, while underneath that is another kimono that is white, the nagajuban. White tabi stockings and zori sandals will cover her feet when her and Gaara are getting married.
Temari was also fitted for a kimono because the woman will be Tenmai's assistant during the wedding, helping her hold up the long kimono and aiding her walking. It is a pale pink, much like the hiyoku of Tenmai's kimono, but has small designs across the material, various types of flowers. They also chose the kimonos for Gaara, Kankuro, and the others participating in the wedding, though they still have to be fitted. Tenmai was truly looking forward to her wedding.
“Tenmai, you alright?” Temari asked, waving a hand in front of her friends face.
“Huh?” Tenmai shook her head of her thoughts and looked up at Temari. “Yeah, I'm fine, just thinking.”
“You must have been thinking hard. I've been trying to get your attention for a few minutes now.”
“Sorry.”
“We almost done with everything?” Shikamaru asked, leaning back in his seat.
“Yes we are, you lazy ass.” scolded Temari, pushing Shikamaru's shoulder.
Tenmai smiled at the two of them, their feelings for each other obvious. Gazing around, she looked at the other patrons of the tea shop. They were all sitting and talking with family and friends over tea and cookies. It was a nice calming atmosphere, everyone relaxed and at peace. It took a lot to accomplish all of this, but in the end it was worth it. Tenmai stood up, stretching her hands high above her head, before grabbing her bags. Temari and Shikamaru followed her lead and the three left the tea shop. Walking out onto the busy streets, they made their way towards the Kazekage mansion, but were stopped by Chuunin calling out Tenmai's name.
“Tenmai-sama! Tenmai-sama!”
Tenmai turned to face the young Chuunin female bent over bowing while catching her breath. She had run in order to catch Tenmai.
“What is it, Miko-chan?” Tenmai asked, raising the chin of the girl.
“Kazekage-sama needs you to go to the tower as soon as possible. Kankuro-san has returned with Matsuri-chan and her team, along with some of the Konohagakure Shinobi. They are injured, attacked while looking for the ninja they were told to find. They captured him though.”
“Alright. Let's go.”
The four of them jumped into the air and began running along the roof tops. Tenmai was going her fastest, the others allowing her to race ahead so she could get to the tower to heal the injured. As Tenmai landed on the floor of the office after having jumped through the window, she saw Sakura trying to heal a serious injury Kankuro received but was having difficulty, being low on chakra and all. Gently pushing Sakura to the side, after telling her to cleanse the wounds of the others, she took over healing the puppet master. He had a large cut on his left leg, a gash in his right leg, and a shallow but serious cut on his forehead, his protector with cat ears not on his head. His makeup had been wiped off, leaving his face plain but pained.
“Don't worry, Kuro-chan, I got you.”
“Mai-chan, how many times do I have to tell you don't call me that.” he scolded, wincing as she ran a chakra-infused hand over the cut on his leg.
“You know you love it.”
“Heh.”
After healing the brunt of his injuries, Tenmai wrapped the now minor wounds on his leg and arm, and taped cloth to his forehead in order to prevent them from becoming infected. Moving onto to the next person, who happened to be none other than Naruto, she saw Gaara in deep conversation with Kakashi, his expression constantly changing. Naruto saw her intense focus on what her fiance and his teacher were talking about and placed a hand over hers. Facing him, she saw the bright smile on his face.
“Congratulations, Mai-chan. I like the ring.”
“Thank you Naru-chan.”
“I am invited, aren't I?”
“What would the wedding be like without my Naru-chan?” she smirked, pinching his cheek while placing a kiss on his forehead.
She took care of the shallow cuts that the Kyuubi's power hadn't fully healed before walking over to her fiance. Kakashi gave his congrats while placing a kiss atop Tenmai's head. Gaara placed a hand on the small of her back as she rested her head on his shoulder. Sakura walked up with Sasuke and Kankuro.
“Where's Matsuri?” Tenmai asked, looking around for her friend.
“She has someone in custody.” Sakura explained. “They are in another room interrogating.”
“The person you captured, are they the missing-nin?”
“No, he and his daughter are being hunted by the ninja. We brought them back here because it was closer and so that they're protected.”
“I want to meet him.” Gaara told them, Kankuro nodding and leaving the room.
The group waited for him to get back. Gaara sat at his desk, writing out reports, while Tenmai leaned against his desk, watching the door. It creaked open and Kankuro walked in with a man carrying a little girl. The man had deep black hair and dark grey eyes. He had high cheek bones, flawless features, and a gold ring in each of his ears. The little girl had her fathers hair, but, instead of grey eyes, had bright amethyst orbs that looked around the office. She couldn't have been more then two. Tenmai looked at the man closer, noting a small scar going across his left cheek.
Gaara watched his fiance scrutinize the man that walked into his office. Anger radiated from the Kazekage, he didn't like Tenmai watching the man so intently. Tenmai's eyes widened and her breathing picked up, the same with the man. He placed his daughter on the ground as he kept his eyes locked with Tenmai's. She pushed off of Gaara's desk and, slowly, walked over to the newcomer.
“Impossible. Higure?”
“Tenmai?”
“What are....how are you alive?”
“I should ask you the same question. We went to the village but the house was gone.”
“It was destroyed months ago by rogue ninja. Nothing could be salvaged so Shibuki had it removed. Why are you here?”
“We are being hunted.”
By this time the two of them were face to face, eyes roaming over each other, taking in appearances. Tenmai smiled at him before throwing her arms around his neck, squeezing him to her tightly. His own arms wrapped around her waist and he picked her off of the ground, spinning with her. After placing her back on the ground, he held her arms length, smiling. She returned the smile before pulling back her fist and punching him in the stomach. He doubled over, grunting in pain.
“What was that for?” he asked, trying to catch his breath.
“You idiot!” she roared, hitting him up-side the head. “For the past 16 ½ years I thought you were dead! Yet here you are in front of me. How?”
“Grandfather took me away so that father could train you to your greatest potential. How are dad and mom?”
“You are out of the loop. Dad killed mom shortly after you 'died' and dad is now after me, for my power and the Doctrine.”
“WHAT!?” he yelled, standing upright quickly and grabbing onto Tenmai's shoulders forcibly.
Sand shot at Higure and threw him back, causing the little girl to scream and run to her father. Tenmai turned around to find Gaara holding a hand out, controlling the sand that was holding Higure down.
“Gaara?! Let him go, he didn't hurt me.”
“He could have.”
“He would never.”
“And how do you know?” Gaara demanded, releasing the sand and facing Tenmai.
“He's my brother Gaara. Like I said, he supposedly died 16 ½ years ago.” A sad look crossed her face as she placed a hand on his arm. “I haven't seen him in so long and it's such a shock to see him here before me. Please, just calm down. I'll explain everything to you later tonight, alright?”
“Yes.”
Smiling at him, she took his hand and lead him to her brother who was holding his daughter. Kneeling in front of Higure, she looked at the little girl in his arms. She shied away from the hand Tenmai extended, but, after a reassuring nod from her dad, she allowed Tenmai to place her hand on her pale cheek.
“Your so cute. What's your name?”
“Myko.”
“Well, Myko, my name is Tenmai and I'm your auntie.”
“Really?” Myko asked, her amethyst eyes growing with curiosity.
“Yes I am and this is your uncle Gaara.” She smiled while tugging Gaara down to kneel beside her. “He's the Kazekage, the man in charge of all the people in this village.”
“You are married to the Kazekage?!” Higure asked, getting over the shock of what his sister said.
“Not yet, but the wedding is in a few short weeks.”
“How?”
“I will explain everything in time, but right now, how about we find a place where you two can get cleaned up?”
“'Kay, Auntie Mai.” Myko jumped off of her father's lap and grabbed onto Gaara's hand, smiling up at the bewildered man.
“Looks like Gaara has a new friend.” Tenmai smiled at her fiance.
Grabbing her brothers outstretched hand, she hauled him up and looked around at the others in the room. They were taking in all that was going on.
“Everyone can head to the local hotel or home, which ever applies.” Tenmai told them. “I need to go catch up with my brother and niece.”

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That was the slightly more mature version, not explicit, but indecent enough to want to protect myself by not posting it on Fanfiction. The next chapter will be out when ever I write it. Maybe sometime this week.