[Late at Night]
Aoba was holding someone on each side.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
A light knocking sounded.
The three who were chatting stopped.
"At this hour, who would be knocking?"
Yakumo frowned; she was just about to coax Hinata to sleep and start her move.
"It's Temari," Hinata rolled her eyes and looked to the door to see who was outside.
"Then I'll go open it, maybe there's something up."
Aoba got up and walked toward the door.
But when he opened it and saw Temari clearly, he couldn't help being a little surprised.
Because Temari was only wearing a beige nightdress, a white jacket over the top, and nothing below, just a pair of slippers.
All ten plump toes were exposed.
"Temari, it's so late, is something wrong?"
Temari didn't speak, she just stepped forward and hugged him.
"Temari?"
"I can't sleep in my room…", Temari's voice was shy and muffled.
This put Aoba in an awkward spot; he scratched his head embarrassedly, "Well then, I might have trouble sleeping."
"Huh?"
Temari looked up blankly from Aoba's arms.
Just then Yakumo and Hinata's voices sounded at the right moment.
Temari turned her head to look into the room and met their gazes.
Quiet night, silent room.
The atmosphere among the three instantly fell into an awkward silence, broken only by the occasional tick of the wall clock.
'What to do?'
Temari's heart kept screaming inwardly; the calf muscles under her beige nightdress tensed, her ten fair toes curled tightly together.
She didn't know what to say next.
'Should I greet them first?'
Aoba's embarrassment quickly faded, and he pulled Temari into the room with him.
"Well, since you're here…"
So the four turned the light on and sat on the bed to chat.
Temari poured out all the worries in her heart.
She was still worried that yesterday's incident might push relations between the two villages back to the freezing point.
She feared it might even trigger war again.
Konoha might be able to handle it, but Sunagakure could no longer bear the cost of another war.
"Didn't Gaara tell you what happened in yesterday's meeting?", Aoba asked, a little puzzled.
Temari shook her head, "Gaara and Kankuro just chatted with me about everyday things lately, they didn't say anything else."
They had simply caught up.
"I see…"
It seemed Gaara didn't want yesterday's matters to affect Temari's life either.
Aoba grew more satisfied with his sensible little brother-in-law, "In that case, I can't explain the specifics to you, I can only tell you this matter is completely over, there will be no more incidents between Sunagakure and Konoha."
"We'll be leaving Sunagakure in a few days."
"Really?", Temari's eyes regained their sparkle.
Aoba nodded seriously, "When have I ever lied to you?"
"That's wonderful."
Temari's worried heart finally relaxed.
But as she relaxed, she noticed the complicated looks on Yakumo and Hinata's faces.
She snapped awake, blushing, and said, "In that case I won't bother you anymore, I'll go back to my room."
She tried to get off the bed, but Aoba grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.
"Well, since you came, stay with us."
"Eh?", Temari froze on the spot.
———
[The Next Day]
[Dawn]
Aoba woke up slowly.
As soon as he opened his eyes he saw Yakumo sleeping soundly, sprawled on top of him and snoring gently.
On the left against the wall was Hinata, hugging his arm.
On the side facing outside was Temari, curled up and also holding his arm, breathing evenly.
This was the most practical way for four people to sleep on one bed.
Luckily his body was sturdy, otherwise being pressed down by everyone might not have been restful.
But this posture made it convenient for Yakumo to do some sneaky things.
He thought of Temari's last-night, reckless look again and couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Then he carefully took Yakumo off himself, freed himself from Hinata's and Temari's embraces, and went into the bathroom.
The three women on the bed also opened their eyes at the same time, cheeks flushed.
———
Days passed.
Indeed, nothing else unexpected happened.
The group originally led by Fuyi, opposing Gaara becoming Kazekage, for some reason suddenly changed course.
Then Gaara smoothly became the next Kazekage.
Even two ranks earlier than in the original story.
Aoba and the others were invited as special guests to attend Gaara's Kazekage succession ceremony.
The remaining handover work with Sunagakure, and the establishment of Konoha's commercial street in Sunagakure, were left to Yamato, the infrastructure specialist.
After spending several days in Sunagakure, Aoba and the others were fed up with the wind and sand and ready to leave.
They were in a shop run by a Konoha merchant.
The group sat around the table.
Eating dinner while arranging the itinerary.
"I plan to go to Roran."
Aoba said directly.
"Roran?"
Everyone present was stunned, as if they hadn't heard that name before, only Temari reacted.
"That isolated country?"
Aoba nodded, "There's something there that operates like a dragon vein, seems pretty powerful."
"Could this be a hidden mission from Lord Hokage?", Kurenai blurted out what her imagination made up.
Aoba rolled his eyes. Since the incident in the Land of Waves, Kurenai had been imagining hidden missions all the time.
"It's not that, this is just a personal interest of mine. I wanted to ask if you'd like to come with me."
"Really?", Kurenai still looked skeptical.
"I'm going!"
"I'm coming too."
Yakumo and Hinata almost answered without thinking and chose to go together.
Seeing their reactions, Kurenai's mouth twitched but she nodded.
"Then I'll come take a look too."
"Me too."
Temari also chose to go, though worry showed on her face.
"But that place is kind of strange."
"Strange?"
Temari explained, "Because Roran isn't far from Sunagakure, the village had negotiated with them before, but apart from some simple trades, nothing came of it."
"But a few years ago a sufficiently skilled puppeteer defected from Sunagakure and went to Roran; after breaking in, he supposedly suddenly turned into an old man and was expelled, not long after he died of old age."
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