Disclaimer: I don't own naruto.
"Against the wind "
Chapter 1 : The travel.
Kankuro hesitated to enter the gates of Konoha's village, but he also knew that there was no turning back. He needed to find out what was wrong with his sister, because he could no longer stand to see her like that. It'd had been a long trip but it was worth it, he knew the only way to return her sister's peace of mind was inside these gates.
He entered the city and headed straight to his destination. He remembered the way since he saw the place the last time he was in the village. It'd been over 3 years since then, but everything was still pretty much the same.
A few minutes after he passed the gates he found himself standing in front of the place he came to see. He hesitated a moment but knocked the door firmly, three times. A black haired woman that seemed to be in her 30's answered the door.
"Yes?" The woman asked
"Good afternoon. Is Shikamaku home?" Kankuro replied politely
"There no one here by that name. There's a Shikamaru, however if that what you meant" replied the woman with an annoyed face.
"Umm, yes sorry!" Kankuro felt the attitude he just received somehow familiar
"He is home. I'll go call him"
The woman headed inside the house towards the stairs and yelled his son's name.
"Shikamaru! There's someone here to see you!"
"To see me?... how troublesome" he whispered while coming down the stairs.
Moments later Shikamaru arrived at the door with a lazy face.
"Umm? Temari's brother? What are you doing here?"
"I need to speak with you"
"Is something wrong?"
"Join me for a walk"
"Heh, ok"
The lazy shinobi joined Kankuro and started walking.
-
"So what's wrong?" Shikamaru went straight to the point
"My sister" Kankuro replied
"What Happened?"
"She changed… right after the Akatsuki battle"
"How?"
"She seems to be… depressed I guess you could say… I've never seen her like this, not even when our father died" Kankuro's expression changed to a more serious one.
"Since things returned to normal… she's been acting pretty strange. She locks herself in her room, she gets distracted quite often in missions, and overall she seems to have lost focus"
"Wow. That really sounds unlike her"
"It is unlike her"
"So have you talked to her? What is the problem?"
"I've tried, but she won't tell me. And that is when she'll even answer. But then…" Kankuro's turned to Shikamaru with questioning eyes.
"One time… I was passing by her room and I heard her sobbing. That didn't surprised me, because she was sobbing almost all the time she was on her room. But between the sobbing I heard something else… a word"
"What word?"
"Your name"
"My name?"
"Yes. I didn't remember it was your name at first. It took me a few days to remember it was you. It's been a week since then and I just had to come here to talk to you" Kankuro turned his head around to face Shikamaru.
"Do you know what's wrong with her? Did you do something to her" Kankuro's tone sounded almost threatening
"No I have no idea"
"Then why would she say you name?"
"Who knows…"
"Idiot this is serious!" Kankuro yelled grabbing violently Shikamaru by the shirt.
"I know it is" Shikamaru replied taking Kankuro's hand away from him.
"But, have you though of asking her about that to her? Now that you know it has to do with me she won't be able to avoid answering"
"But… don't you care? Whatever has her acting like this has something to do with you…"
"Are you sure you heard correctly? Words between sobbing could be coming out hard to understand"
"I'm sure, 100"
"I'm sorry I can't help you then"
"What could be…" Kankuro expression reflected complete confusion again.
"I'm sorry" A happy looking blonde appear from around the corner "but I couldn't help to overhear"
"I think I know what may be wrong with her" Ino said keeping her smile
"How can you know? You barely know her" Shikamaru replied
"Geez Shikamaru, you still have a lot to learn about woman behavior. I guess your genius doesn't apply to that"
"Umm?"
"She likes you"
"She likes me?...no way… she never said anything about that"
"Of course not, do you think she's the kind of girl that would write you a letter and tell you she loves you?" Ino replied scolding him
"But think about it, did she ever do anything that could hint it?"
"Like what?"
"Like mmm, for example, teasing you, or hanging around with you when she doesn't have to, treating you badly"
Shikamaru quickly looked back 3 years ago, when they fought Tayuya, and when they were at the hospital together.
"I'm supposed to get the idea that she likes me from those actions? It doesn't make sense"
"Most of the time women don't make sense Shikamaru. Remember that" Ino's smile grew wider
"So she's depressed because she likes this guy?" Kankuro asked with disbelief
"She's depressed because she doesn't think that her feelings are mutual, or that she knows it's not possible. Because of where you two live it couldn't be"
"So what can we do?" Kankuro asked
"Shikamaru, the first thing that you must think of, is if you like her. Depending on that, you can start thinking of a solution"
-
Shikamaru stared at the sky, laying in the grass as he usually did. But this time it was different. Whenever he was there he would most of the time let his mind free and not think too much if he though at all. But this time too many ideas wondered around his head. Whereas most of the times he'd go trough the problems he faces calmly and on order, this time he was a mess. How to deal with something like this? In the course of his 15 almost 16 years the only word the he could think of when he tough of women was "troublesome". He never really saw any of the girls in the village "that" way, it never really worried him though, since none of his friends seemed to do it either. "Maybe we're too young" he used to think.
"Bossy, rude and… beautiful…" words that described Temari. And Shikamaru had a problem with each one of them. Of course after living 16 years with a bossy woman the last thing he'd want is getting involved with another one. A person that shows feelings to someone by being rude? Seems troublesome. And a beautiful woman?... Shikamaru never aimed high on that department, the little he'd though about it. The way he wanted his life to be was simple, marry a normal not to pretty but not to ugly girl, have a kid or 2 and sit around on his house for long periods of time after he retired.
Pretty woman are usually more troublesome since they usually think too highly of themselves. That's why Shikamaru never wanted to become involved with one. But one, one of the most beautiful women he'd ever meet was miles away crying for him. And it was time now for Shikamaru to take the decision, either take the risk, or simply ignore the situation. Putting his fingertips together forming a circle he started calculating all he possible outcomes and processing the pros and cons. But to his surprise, this time he could not take a decision that way. He knew the facts, and the risks, but at the end it was a decision he had to make using a different part of his body.
-
Kankuro though of Temari while preparing to leave the village. He'd been waiting for hours for Shikamaru to arrive but he never did. "He obviously don't care about it"
"How can my sister fall for someone like that… and that much. It doesn't make sense that her, such an independent and strong woman would lose her grip all for a lazy guy like this"
"I guess I'll confront her when I get back. There must be some way to deal with this"
Just as he started walking towards the gates a voice stopped him.
"I'm going with you" Shikamaru said with a firm decided voice.
"And just what are you planning to do when you get there?"
"I've made my decision. But it's not of your business"
"Idiot, this is my sister you're talking about"
"It doesn't matter; it's between her and me"
Kankuro looked at him with a reserved look on his face.
"Fine"
They both started walking together towards the gates.
"But don't worry. When I return here she'll be back to her old self. You can be sure"
With a face of disbelief Kankuro looked at him while reaching the gates.
"Ok"
Well, that's it, I hope you liked it. I'll probably update within two weeks.