Simple Plans
It was a very hot day. The midday sun was bothering him so he finally decided to stop somewhere for a drink and some food. The others had wandered away from him because they wanted to take a look at some places that were said to be nice.
He found a small restaurant and decided to go in. It'd be too troublesome to look for another one.
He sat down facing the back wall, and waited for the appetizers as he took a sip of a sweet and cold drink.
Man, was that day annoyingly hot! He brushed off the little sand that had settled on his clothes and looked around. There was no one in the restaurant except for him and the people who worked there. No surprise, of course, if one considered the circumstances…
As a man brought him the food he had asked for, he heard someone stepping in.
"Shikamaru," came a female's voice.
He took another sip and sighed.
"Temari," he said, not turning to face her.
The blonde sat a few seats away from him and he followed her with the corner of his eyes. She still carried that huge fan of hers, and she looked ready for a fight.
"So, how's Konoha's favorite chuunin strategist doing?" she asked – a little bitterly, he thought - her gaze on a small menu on a wall.
"I won't say it's great to see you again, even if that's what you wanted to hear," he half-smirked as he spoke in his usual tone.
Her face got slightly red, either from anger or the sight of the handsome smirking shinobi.
"Same to you," she replied. "I was just wondering why someone like you would come to this village in the middle of the desert. I thought you were supposed to be the laziest guy in Konohagakure."
Women were so weird… it made him remember the times he asked his old man why he had married the woman that would become his mother. She was so rigid! So pushy! So moody! So arrogant! And the best answer his father would come up with was 'She can be sweet and loving'. Yeah, right. He swallowed a mouthful of food that had been unknown to him until then… it tasted good.
Maybe the weird ones were the men…
"In case you don't know," he said, still not looking at her "The Jounin Shiken is going to be held here in your country this time."
"The Jounin Shiken? I'm surprised you will take it,"
"It's not like I wanted to come," he muttered, remembering all the pressure of his friends and family.
"Idiot," she said, a little upset. "Don't think it'll be easy like that Chuunin Shiken you went through."
He sighed again, looking bored. "Still, I was the only one to pass… there's no need to worry about me,"
"I'm not worried about you!"
He shrugged and looked to the sky through a window on the left wall. No clouds. Dull.
"Aren't you going to order something?" he asked, sounding as bored as ever.
"I didn't come here for food or drink,"
"Oh? So what did you come here for," he smirked, looking directly at her for the first time.
Her face got red again, and again he couldn't tell why. "It wasn't because of you, even if that's what you wanted it to be… and what I do or don't is none of your concern."
He could tell she was upset. With him? He wondered why.
He sipped at his drink once more and stood. He put some money on the counter and turned to leave. It had cooled down a bit, it was time to look for the others: the event would start in two hours. .
"I'm going to try to become a Jounin too. Good luck, Shikamaru. You'll need it in case you meet me again," she said. Like he had done to her, she didn't turn to him
"There's no need for luck, Temari," he said from the doorway, his back to her.
"Why's that?"
He sighed. "Because I have already planned everything… and I have everything under my control,"
Proud jerk. They hadn't seen each other in a while, so he could at least act a little nicer. And what was with that attitude? She just couldn't take it anymore! She jumped to her feet and walked up to him.
"Do you have this planned?" she asked, turning him around and kissing him.
She had his arms in a firm grip as not to let him escape. He kissed back. As they parted and she glared at him before leaving in a blur, he put his hands in his pockets and walked away as nonchalant-looking as he could. What a hassle.
Konoha's strategist couldn't help laughing a bit. She would never know that the answer to her last question was "Yes".
So how's it?
I'm sure some people will think it was a little rushed, but I've wanted to write this for quite some time so don't blame me!
And it isn't romantic, because neither Shikamaru nor Temari are really, well, romantic.
I don't really know if there's a Jounin Shiken (but there should be, I guess…), so just pretend it exists even if it doesn't.
Oh yeah, Temari, Kankurou and Neji pass the Exam, as those who have read as far as chapter 247 should be aware.
Next story will be a KabutoShizune!