AN: I decided that these were my two fave characters and I was short on ideas for my usual pairings, so I am just experimenting a bit.
Possibly slightly inspired by the Shikamaru cosplayer who glomped me at London expo because, and I quote "I love Tenten, she's my favorite". Hai, I was in Tenten cosplay, he wasn't psychic I don't think. If you are he, please review so I know you read it.
It is crack, but I think it is very justified. Nobu will emphasize my point in the next chapter in conversations. The title explains it a little- use your brain y'all.
It's random, it's due to be colorful, it's yours to enjoy…
Disclaimers apply as usual.
Average- Listener
"You are tired" Shikamaru pointed out as he sat down beside her.
She kept staring up at the sky, absent mindedly re-wrapping her injured leg in its bandage while she spoke. "Everyone is tired sir"
He nodded "Hai, but you did bare the main brunt of the fight. You can go inside if you want, I'll cover you."
"I can't have that sir. I can complete my duty no matter what my state is. I don't need your charity"
He sighed, desperately trying to restrain the drawled 'mendokuse' that came to mind at her offence. Oddly enough though, she didn't seem upset or angry at him; everything she said was delivered with a clear, polite voice which was in no way hard on the ears. "It's not charity. I couldn't sleep so I didn't mind if you wanted me to take the watch, or… whatever"
It took her a while to answer, and he began to look up at the sky himself, falling back so that he could lie down for a better perspective. He began to lull himself into a relaxed state, knowing that the mission had gone flawlessly and there was no chance of ninja tracking them to their current position. It didn't mean that he was getting lazier, as he was always alert in case enemy ninja from elsewhere sensed their presence, but it meant that there would be no half beaten and furious s-class ninjas tracking them for revenge.
The ANBU group had spilt into three man cells in their route back to Konoha, covering more ground and diverting the trail just as a precautionary measure, not really because they thought they might need it. Shikamaru's third team member, Nobu, had taken the first watch and had been sleeping hard from the first second his head hit earth over two hours ago. In truth, it was the tall man's snoring that had kept the ANBU captain from sleeping, but that didn't really matter to him.
The firelight flickered out amongst the trees, casting streams of light over the two figures that both lay in simple ANBU uniforms, but without the outer armor and masks. For stealth and anonymity, Tenten had forgone her previous hair styling, opting now for a simple high ponytail which reached just below shoulder level, her bangs long enough now to brush against her cheeks. She had never been vain, always choosing the practical and comfortable over the attractive, so it was no surprise that she didn't even flinch with the number of cuts to her uniform and bruises on her own skin she currently displayed.
Shikamaru was much the same, black shirt frayed and pulled from snags, although this was more from lying on his back than from hand to hand combat. His jutsu worked best at a mid distance from the opponent, whereas Tenten preferred to be much more hands on, resulting in most of her injuries that could easily be avoided. She just seemed to get such a rush from it that the damages she did to herself were worthy collateral according to her theories.
The first time they worked together in ANBU, she had taken a gash to the stomach with a Katana, losing a lot of blood and slumping to the floor, the enemy towering above her ominously. His immediate thoughts had been towards guilt, feeling as usual that it was his plans failing to protect her, so he ran to help her. Before he had even had time to reach her though, she had pressed a hand to her bleeding stomach and risen to a crouch, kicking up with one leg to slice through the ninja's throat with a hidden blade in her toe cap. The man, who was easily three times her weight and strength, fell limply to the ground but she still didn't move from her crouch.
Shikamaru came closer, breaking out of his reverie to offer her a hand up in concern. He was soon more concerned with the fact that she was giggling when she looked up at him, in much the same way that Ino did when she saw Sasuke.
"Are there any more?" she asked him with a smirk
"No Tenten; that was the last." He frowned at her blood soaked top "You need medical attention"
She followed his gaze as though she hadn't even noticed the injury and laughed again before telling him one of her favorite mottos "I'll be fine; if I didn't get injured, I can't have been trying hard enough. It just proves I'm alive."
Then she passed out.
Her courage had shocked him then, and he was determined that she was just insane, but having fought beside her now for over 3 years he had learnt to respect and trust her to know her own limits. The deadly accuracy of her weapons and his mind combined made them a razor sharp team, and since that first few missions, there had rarely been a time when they were given two consecutive missions without each other's presence.
Still, they kept everything business, and could barely even be regarded as acquaintances never mind friends. She still called him 'sir', and neither spent any time getting to know each other. They had both lost teammates already in the field and decided that attachments only hinder judgment and cause grief. It was this of many reasons, which caused them to never have a solid third team member. Nobu had been with them for only 5 months and was already the longest standing third they had had.
Shikamaru, lost in his reflections, was quite startled when she spoke again, her voice soft. "I'm not tired. I'd rather sit and watch the stars"
"Nani?" he sat up a little to gaze up at her in interest.
"It's not often I get a chance in Konoha. It's nice just to relax, you know?" she didn't smile, but a glint of reflected starlight told him how tranquil she was, and he knew exactly what she meant.
"It's the stillness" he responded, looking up with her "Everything in a town is moving and busy, but out here, you can sit and stare at nothing. It gives you a chance to think in the quiet"
"Also; they're shiny" she shifted her eyes sideways to meet his in delight
He exhaled sharply, his only sign of amusement, and nodded. "That too"
"Do you do this often sir?" she wondered out loud
"Do what often?"
"Stare at the sky"
"All of the time… or whenever I can get free more precisely. Do you?"
She nodded back "Since I joined Team Gai. When Neji started lecturing on 'fate' sometimes it was all I could do without going mad to stare at the sky. Then with Lee…"
"You miss them" he observed, scanning her facial expressions.
She faced the fire to hide her face, fiddling with her bandages again "Don't you miss your team?"
"Of course I do, but I live with Choj and Ino is impossible to get rid of, so I don't really have that much to miss." He sighed "It's been a long time since we lost Asuma-sensei and I guess we've recovered a lot, but I do still look up for him at times, for advice. He's part of us all."
"I didn't know you lived with Chouji sir. You still all talk?"
"Hai, we are inseparable" he smirked sideways
"I wish that was the same for us. We were never one team; Lee and Gai-sensei were a team on their own and Neji and I were just their anonymous others most of the time. Once Neji joined ANBU, after Lee died, we just broke apart." She awkwardly picked up a stray piece of twig and threw it back into the flames thoughtfully "I talk to Gai-sensei occasionally, but he never forgives himself so it only makes me cry."
Shikamaru dropped his expression. "I find it hard to believe that you cry Tenten"
"Hai well… I'm not as tough as I am on missions all of the time"
He blinked in realization and sat back in slight alarm. "Does it strike you that this is the only time we have ever talked to each other about non-ANBU related issues?"
She looked back at him, obviously trying to cast her mind back over the last 3 or so years before her eyes went wider. "You are right. That's quite shocking."
"That I'm right or that we haven't spoken?" he smirked again and leant back on the ground.
She rolled her eyes before lying down beside him, leaning up on one elbow to face him. "We should talk more often sir, you are a good listener"
"Sure," he shrugged "just stop calling me sir, I'm not royalty"
"No, but you're my team captain"
"Still, it makes me uncomfortable"
"Alright… how about this" she smiled "If I promise to call you Shikamaru in future, will you promise that we can go sky watching sometime when we get back to Konoha?"
"Of course, I've never had anyone to lie with…" he stopped himself quickly "that sounded wrong"
She laughed lightly and moved onto her back to stare back at the stars "it's ok, I know what you meant"
"You did well today. I didn't get into a panic attack once" he remarked after a few minutes of staring blankly at the sky.
"I must try harder then." She joked
"That's really not funny"
"Well to be fair, I think Tsunade-sama sent a few more of us for back-up than was really necessary. That guy was a push over; seriously, I think most of my bruises were from my own slight lack of practice."
"I still don't see why you insist on using things like nunchaku that just cover you in bruises when you are more than proficient with other, more effective weapons."
"I do that, because I am more than proficient with other weapons. I need to practice more with things I'm not so good at I order to get better. Then, I can use almost anything as a weapon if needs call for it, and have an in depth knowledge of the best way it can work with my body to work it to my advantage."
"It's an interesting approach"
She laughed again "you stopped listening, didn't you?"
"I got the general impression of what you were saying." He smiled back, knowing that he listened to every second, just feeling a need to wind her up anyway.
"How long do we have before we have to wake the dragon?" she asked, pointing back towards the tent.
He raised an eyebrow at her "Why do you ask? Am I boring you already?"
"It's taken 3 years…" she teased "but no, not yet. The sun is coming up"
"We need to wake him now then"
"No need to interrupt the touching moment cap'n" A voice came from behind them and they whipped their heads around to glare at him.
"Are you ready to move out Nobu?" Shikamaru began to stand up
"I don't get breakfast?" he protested
"No, that's what you get for smart ass comments. We should be in Konoha tonight so we'll stop for lunch and to give Tenten's leg some rest" he paused only to stop Tenten from protesting "that's the final decision Tenten, I don't care how high your pain threshold is, I'm not getting another lecture from miss high and mighty if I can help it. So we'll stop then for something to eat, only briefly, and then keep going till we reach Konoha."
He knew it sounded harsh, but in the end he was their captain and as friendly as he could be, he wasn't a push over. Usually it was Tenten who cracked the whip on whoever was acting as their third teammate, but in her current reluctant attitude, she would probably rather have stayed lying under the stars for the rest of the night, and then watch the clouds all day afterwards. She never struck him as lazy, but unless something poisonous was stuck inside that leg wound of hers, she was definitely a lot looser with her personality on this mission that he couldn't understand.
"The other teams will be back by lunchtime…" Tenten grumbled under her breath but went off to start putting her armor back on without another word as the others went inside the tent.
AN: feedback pleshies.
As with all of my stories: I have Three big rules…
RULE 1: If you don't like it- give me constructive criticism, not just 'I don't like this', or don't say anything at all
RULE 2: If you do like it, review, show the luff
RULE 3: If you do, or you are even not sure, go and visit my writing website: www . freewebs . com /belizma-kelli (delete spaces)
Stay shiny and show the luff
Belizma-chan
