"Uncle Matsu!"

Saya eagerly jumped into the arms of her awaiting uncle, who spun her around in pure ecstasy and covered her little face in enthusiastic kisses. Temari smiled and yawned as she watched the joyful reunion. Matsuda had woken her up much too early in anticipation for the visit.

"Hey kid." Aizawa shuffled into the room, still in his morning robe, "How's your morning?"

Temari rubbed her eyes drowsily, "I want to sleep."

"Same here." Aizawa chuckled and nodded towards Saya, Matsuda, and now Yumi, "Why don't you and I talk for a bit?"

The girl nodded as the older man cleared a few pillows off the couch so she could sit down. Temari sighed with contentment as she sank down into the soft cushions. Matsuda's couch had seen years of wear and the fabric housed more than its fair share of mysterious and slightly moldy stains. Sitting on a clean couch felt like a previously unobtainable slice of heaven.

"So, how's life with Matsuda?" Aizawa asked and reached for the tumbler of whiskey on the coffee table.

Temari shrugged, "Same as always, I guess."

"Getting enough cold pizza?"

"Some nights we have curry." The girl laughed, "You shouldn't set the bar quite that low. Uncle Matsu is a good caretaker; he's just a bit clueless with everything else." Her voice softened, "You really don't give him enough credit. He's trying really hard to keep all of us happy, especially Saya."

The man put his glass down, "I guess you're right. He's been the only constant person in Saya's life since her parents died. I bet that means a lot to her, even though she doesn't realize it."

"I know it does." Temari smiled wistfully, "They're going to be close their whole lives. I'm so glad that they've got eachother."

"Me too."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, not knowing what else to say. Temari closed her eyes, sensing a headache appearing between her temples. All she had done for the past few weeks was sleep. Sleep and eat. Thinking and moving took energy that Temari wasn't able to give. Oddly enough, she hadn't cried. Crying takes energy, the girl supposed, I just don't have any right now. The tears will come when the energy does.

But when will the energy ever come back?

"I know it's a bit early, but have you given any thought to what you want to do with your life?" Aizawa asked, breaking the silence, much to Temari displeasure, "Are you going to go back to To-Oh?"

Temari opened her eyes and bit her lip, "I don't know. I don't even remember why I applied in the first place."

"You had told us that you wanted to join the NPA." Aizawa reminded her, "You wanted to work in the Intelligence and Information Bureau, just like Light."

The girl shook her head, "I don't know if it's right for me anymore."

"Why not? You're almost as smart as Light. In a few years and with some proper training, I'm sure you could surpass him completely." Aizawa disputed, "Besides, I've already been promoted to Deputy Director. I know that the NPA definitely needs someone like you."

"I don't think it's right for me." Temari repeated calmly.

"You're being foolish." Aizawa said through gritted teeth, "L even gave you a letter. You're seriously throwing that all away? You're an idiot. No better than Matsuda."

"Don't talk about Uncle Matsu in that way!" The girl stood up with a shout, "He's the kindest, most considerate man I know. I don't deserve a person like him in my life and you don't either!" She whirled around fumed out of the living room, "I'm leaving. Tell Saya that I'll see her later."

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"Temari! I've got dinner." Matsuda knocked lightly on the doorframe, a styrofoam box in hand, "I got katsudon from that good place down the street." He opened the door as gently as he could, "I guess you're still sleepy. I'll leave this by the door."

"Wait. Stay." The girl rolled over and held out her arm, "It smells good."

Matsuda smiled, "Sure." He sat down on the bed and patted Temari on the head, "I even made sure to get a fork, you American."

"Thank you, Uncle Matsu."

Temari sat up and took her dinner. Matsuda has always been so kind and generous. She really meant it when she said that he doesn't receive enough credit. He's a really good guy. Before falling asleep, Temari thought about that for a while.

The argument with Aizawa had started to take its toll on her. Temari hated being rushed; and that's all that Aizawa was about, rushing, rushing, rushing. Always moving forward, always moving on. He could never understand what she was going through.

"Hey Uncle Matsu?" She asked and picked up her fork, "Why did you decide to become a police officer?"

Matsuda paused, a piece of fried pork halfway to his mouth, "Why do you ask that, Temari?"

"I was just wondering."

"I wanted to be hero." The man set aside his chopsticks and his gaze dropped to the floor, "I was bullied a lot in school; so there was nothing more I wanted than to protect the weak, you know? It's kinda dumb."

Temari shook her head, "It's not dumb at all."

"I don't know." Matsuda chuckled awkwardly, "Everyone else that I've told just laughed at me and said that I needed to man up and stop living in the world of children."

"They're the dumb ones." The girl said as she continued eating, "They shouldn't be telling you that your ideals are silly and immature. You're not hurting anyone, so why should they judge?"

"You know, you're really good at this."

"Good at what?" Temari picked the remaining pork pieces out of her styrofoam container; she liked to eat the rice last, "Telling other people that they're wrong?"

Matsuda shook his head and laughed, "That's not what I meant, but you're good at that too. I mean doing what you just did. I don't know; it's kind of like reassuring me that I'm not as stupid as I think I am. Something like that."

A piece of hair fell out of the girl's messy ponytail as she nodded, "Yeah. I know. Other people have told me the same thing."

"I'll be going back to the NPA tomorrow." Matsuda said, abruptly changing the subject, "Will you be okay on your own?"

"Of course. I'm always okay."

"Good." The older man smiled, "I thought you'd say that. So now that I'm back at work, when are you going to do something with your life?"

Temari rolled her eyes, "Aizawa said the same thing earlier. Is that all you guys care about?"

"No! Well, a little bit. But that's not all of it!" Matsuda shook his head rapidly, "You're a smart kid, Temari. We want you to be using all the potential you've got. If you wanted to, you could work at the NPA with me. We can be office buddies!"

The girl couldn't help but laugh, "I'm sorry, but I don't think that I want to be a police officer here in Japan."

"Why not? I'm sure that the NPA would be more than happy to hire you."

"I just don't think it's for me." Temari repeated for the second time that day, "But I'll think about it." She set the remainder of her dinner on the bed, "Thank you for the meal, Uncle Matsu."

Matsuda grinned, "You're welcome. I leave at nine tomorrow. Try not to get into too much trouble."

"I'll only burn the house down." The girl replied teasingly, "The bank robbery will have to be put on hold until Tuesday."

"I love you." Matsuda gently kissed his niece's forehead, "Go to bed early and get some sleep, okay? I'll leave some Eggo waffles for you in the morning."

"Goodnight."

The girl placed her fingers on the place that Matsuda had just kissed. She could feel tears start to well up in her eyes but adamantly pushed them back. Crying wouldn't make anything better; all it would do is make Matsuda worry about her. Temari didn't want that. Not after all this.

Temari waited until she could no longer hear footsteps in the hallway before pulling out her phone from under the mattress. She dialed an impressively long number and hoped desperately that the person on the other end would pick up.

"Hello?"

"Is this Near?"

"Yes."

"Good." Temari breathed a sigh of relief, "Can I meet with you and your team tomorrow?"

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hello friends!  i know this chapter seems kinda repetitive and unbalanced (especially from temari) but it's important to note that she's in a very emotionally fragile mindset rn

QOTD: if you could live in any anime world, which one would you choose?

i think i'd probably have to go with naruto lol.  ninjas are pretty cool.