Island of Storms [Sakura]

Chapter 38 | Transfer

Temari woke as a ray of sun slipped through the curtains and assaulted her eyes. Letting out a quiet groan, she flipped over to find Shikamaru was still asleep, unaffected by the morning sun beating down on his face. She pulled herself up out of bed, not quite caring if she made noise as she knew he wouldn't wake up easily after not having slept for so long.

She made her way to the kitchen, deciding to take the exterior route as it appealed to her more at the time. One could reach most of the rooms of the house via the deck in the back garden. The ones not reachable were the two smaller rooms that would most likely turn into storage and an office, though she was sure they were meant to be bedrooms.

The kitchen and dining room were opposite of the master bedroom and were connected to the living room. A hall that cut through the center of the home from the front door to the garden, separated the two sides of the house. She set the kettle on the stove and lit it before she began to let her mind wander.

"A baby, huh?" she whispered to herself after thinking more about the two extra bedrooms. She had never been against the idea, but had never really thought about it either. Noticing the tea had boiled enough, she poured it into a cup and stepped out into the garden, sitting on the deck. She rested her feet in the grass that held fresh dew, thinking that the area was far too simple. "There needs to be a rock pond in here..."

She muttered to herself before the door of the master bedroom opened across from her.

"There you are," her fiance got out through a yawn. He made his way around the deck and entered the kitchen behind her. A few moments later he sat next to her, his own cup of tea in hand.

"What do you think about having a baby?" she asked nonchalantly as she took a sip of her tea.

"Isn't that a question to hit a guy with first thing in the morning..." he murmured, a smile forming on her lips as she realized he still wasn't awake enough to fully react to things. "If you want one, I'd love to have one..."

She smiled as she looked at him from the corner of her eye. "But I'm not sure that now's the best time..."

She let out a laugh.

"I agree," she added. "Marriage should probably come a bit before that."

"In our case?" he asked, his eyes fighting to stay open. "Definitely."

He took a deep breath in an attempt to wake himself up a bit more. "I heard you say something before I came out..."

"I was just thinking there needs to be a rock pond."

"It is a little plain in here." The couple discussed other things that could improve the house before a hummingbird flew into their view. It landed on the decking next to Temari, and she noticed the small scroll tied to its back. Removing the scroll, the bird immediately took off and disappeared from sight. Unwrapping the small roll of paper, her eyes passed over the single sentence that it held.

"The letters to Konoha have been sent," she read out.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Tsunade looked at the next scroll on her desk with an irritated expression. Things had been going less than swimmingly since the moment she heard that her student had jumped ship. Her consumption of alcohol had increased if such a thing was even possible, though she found herself losing her time in her paperwork; something that brought a bit of fear into her.

The scroll was blue-green in color and held a wax seal that looked just as official as anything she herself would send as the Hokage. Such a thing urged her to read it before the others.