Just a little something for Temari Week.
No matter what, Temari is a proud mom. And Shikadai should really remember that.
It was almost midnight and the moon shone above the village. Shikadai looked up at the sky and stared at it for a few seconds. He sighed, lowered his head and opened the door. The house was dark and silent. That meant his parents were already asleep. Somehow, he felt relieved. He really didn’t want to face them after he had so disgracefully lost to Boruto that very afternoon. He couldn’t get rid of that sense of guilt that was tormenting him since then. Not even having dinner with his team and his sensei was enough to calm him down.
He walked towards the stairs. He took the first step, then stopped. Instead of going to his room, he turned around and reached the porch that opened on his family garden. He didn’t feel like sleeping yet. He honestly feared he wouldn’t be able to sleep until he figured out what he had done wrong during the exams. He sat down, keeping his eyes low, letting the soft night breeze caress his skin.
Suddenly, he heard the door behind him slide open.
Temari was standing at the entrance and was looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
«Mom…». She was wearing her nightgown and her hair was down. Probably he had woken her up when he had come back.
«What’s wrong?», Temari asked joining him on the porch.
«Nothing… I just… I can’t sleep», Shikadai answered. Temari chuckled.
«Well, I’m really worried now…», she said sarcastically. She knew her son loved sleeping almost as much as his Dad did. Shikadai rolled his eyes, then he turned his gaze to the moon. Temari sighed and sat next to him. They spent a few minutes in silence.
«I… I’m sorry». Shikadai mumbled all of a sudden. Temari stared at him.
«Sorry? Sorry for what?», she asked.
«Don’t pretend you don’t know!», Shikadai retorted sharply.
«Hey! What’s with that attitude? Seriously, son, you’re not making any sense!», she exclaimed. Shikadai’s eyes darkened.
«I’m sorry I lost to Boruto! I lost! I failed you, I failed Dad, everyone! I apologize. Happy now?», the boy yelled looking straight into his mother’s teal irises. Temari was speechless. She kept staring at him, mouth slightly open, shocked by that sudden outburst. Shikadai felt a shiver run down his spine. He knew raising his voice with his mother wasn’t a good idea and was starting to fear her reaction. He thought she was going to scold him, instead, she burst out laughing. Shikadai opened his eyes wide. What was the meaning of that? He was sure she would have lectured him, why was she laughing? Was she teasing him? That whole situation was such a drag…
«You can’t be serious», Temari answered, wiping a tear away. «Yes, you lost your match. And if you really want to know, the only one you failed is yourself», she said, pointing a finger at him.
«But… But you spent all that time helping me figure out that new move… and Dad even sacrificed his resting hours to train me and…»
«Shikadai!». Temari’s sharp voice interrupted his rambling. Her eyes fixed on his face. Under that powerful gaze, Shikadai didn’t dare to add another word. «It was an exam. Of course, we wanted you to succeed, but we also knew things could go wrong, that’s fine. I didn’t become a chunin at the first attempt».
«Dad did», Shikadai pointed out.
«By giving up. Which is exactly what you did today», Temari told him. Her gaze had softened a little.
«Yeah but it’s different! You’ve always told me Dad had already won when he gave up! I had to do it because I had lost! I had no chance of winning!». Shikadai’s voice sounded almost desperate. Temari sighed and raised her hands in the air.
«Alright! Fine! You’ve lost. So what? There’ll be other chances!». She was trying to calm him down and reassure him. However, Shikadai’s discomfort only grew worse. He stood up, shaking in nervousness.
«Why don’t you admit you’re disappointed?!», he yelled.
«Because I’m not», Temari answered plainly.
«And you expect me to believe that?!», Shikadai shouted clenching his fists. He didn’t care if he was making a scene. He was tired of keeping all those feelings inside. For once, he just wanted to let it all out. He didn’t care if his mother would lecture him later. He was actually hoping it. It would have made more sense. It felt like she wasn’t herself that night. He had expected her to be sad, disappointed, upset. He was sure she would have scolded him for losing. She wasn’t acting like the proud woman she was. Maybe that was what troubled him the most. His lower lip was trembling.
«You wanted me to win so badly you even came to talk to me before that damn match. How can you say you don’t care now?», he exclaimed pointing a finger at her.
Temari slammed her hand on the wooden floor and stood up. Shikadai thought she was finally upset enough.
«We came to see you because we were already damn proud of you!», she answered looking at him.
Shikadai was taken aback. The unsettling feeling resting in his chest began to fade. He didn’t feel like shouting and complaining anymore. It seemed all his discomfort was melting. He had never understood how his mother always managed to say the right words in the right moment. It was a mystery to him, he couldn’t figure it out. But then, he didn’t care. It worked, that’s the only thing that mattered, he thought as Temari spoke again.
«Why can’t you get it, Shikadai? The purpose of these exams is to highlight the skills and capabilities of the participants. You’ve already proved to be a pretty good strategist, and a strong ninja, maybe not enough to be promoted to chunin, but that’s not the point». Temari took a few steps toward him. Her gaze was gentle. «Dad and I know better than anyone else how hard you trained, how much you improved. We know it, we are your parents. And who cares if you’re not a chunin yet. We are already immensely proud of you».
Shikadai didn’t even let her finish speaking before rushing forwards and hug her tightly. Temari wasn’t expecting such a reaction, but it took her less than a second to put her arms around her boy and pull him closer.
«It still hurts… I hate this feeling!», Shikadai mumbled against his mother’s chest. His voice was broken in frustration and a small tear was lingering in the corner of his eye.
«I know…», Temari said softly, stroking affectionately his head. She knew moments like this would become rarer and rarer and she wanted to enjoy them as much as she could.
A few minutes passed. Shikadai was feeling a lot better. He was still a bit sad, but venting all his discomfort had really helped to improve his mood. His mother’s words were all he needed to start accepting the outcome of the exam.
«Hey, Mom… by the way…», he said as they got back into the house. «You never really told me how that match against Dad went… ». Temari chuckled.
«Well… Where to start… one thing I will never forget is… that ridiculous, annoying, stupid grin he had on his face! He keeps saying it’s not true but I know he was mocking me!», she exclaimed raising her fist in the air. Shikadai watched her stomping up the stairs.
«I guess it wasn’t really wise of me to ask», he commented scratching the back of his neck. His lips bent in an amused grin as he followed her upstairs.
As always, thanks for reading :)