Temari rubbed her eyes softly, and woke up in the morning sun. It's time for work, again. Since last year, Temari became an official writer and wrote different kinds of stories every time. Adventure Stories, Funny Stories, Fairytales…(.etc.) Until yesterday, her boss gave her a new topic.
"Listen, Sabaku! You're going to write me a new story."
"As always, -San…"
"And this time, you're going to write a LOVE STORY!"
"WHA…? Are you serious? No way!"
"I'm sorry, Miss. Sabaku… But you must."
"No way I'm going to do it. Forget about it!"
"So you're telling me that you're not talent enough, huh?"
"You… You… FINE! I'LL TAKE THIS JOB!"
"That's good to hear, . Now chop, chop! You're going to hand in your work two months later."
"Damn."
And that's what happened. The young writer sighed heavily, and tapped her hands on her desk, thinking of a perfect topic that will shut her boss' mouth up. Oh great. I shouldn't have fallen into his stupid trap. I'm a jerk. Temari sighed. "Temari, may I come in?" A voice asked outside her room. "Come in, Tenten. What's up?" Teamri turned to her best friend. Tenten shared the same house with Temari, and she's a Judo teacher. "Nothing. Just checking you out. What's the topic this time?" Her friend asked. Temari banged her head onto her desk, and yelled, "A-LOVE-STORY! HELP, TENTEN! I THINK I'M GOING TO DIE OF THINKING A PERFECT TOPIC!" Tenten thought for a while, and suddenly, an evil grin appeared on her face. "Pssst, Hime-san. How about a trip to Hokkaido? It's autumn and I bet that there's loads of couples there under the sakura trees… You'll have loads of things to write about, then." Tenten said with a evil smile on her face. Temari thought for a while, and asked, "Who's going?" "Nobody except of you and me. I'll pay for the tickets."The girl's evil grin is still on her face. It may be a great idea… Working while having a mini vacation… Seems interesting… The Sabaku thought. "Fine. Deal." She finally said. Tenten hugged her friend and squealed, "YAYYYYY! Thanks, Hime-San! You're the best! I'm going to buy the tickets now! We'll be going the day after tomorrow!" She smiled and skipped off.
It's finally the day for the trip. Temari took her luggage and went off to the airport. "Hey, Hime-San~" Tenten squealed when she arrived. Temari stared at her friend, and asked, "Seriously, Tenten… Why are you so excited?" "Well… Guess I have to tell you. I have a boyfriend who lives in Hokkaido. His name's Neji Hyuuga." Tenten blushed. Temari smiled a bit, and said, "So you're using me all the time… Tenten, you're wicked." "Hey… But I have another reason! Neji-kun has a friend who's a writer too, and they are roommates. He can give you some advice in writing a love story. He's a genius."
"So… What's his name?"
"Well… His name is Shikamaru Nara."
After one hour of super boring flight, the girls arrived at Hokkaido. They took their luggage, and decided to stop by Neji's house and find a place to stay.
Tenten smiled happily as she pressed the doorbell of Neji's house. After a while, a guy a green T-shirt and grey jeans with his hair tied up high came to answer the door. "Hi, Shikamaru! Where's Neji?" Tenten greeted nicely. The boy smiled a bit at Tenten and said, "Hey. I'll go get him for you. NEJI HYUUGA! SOMEONE'S HERE FOR YOU!" "Who's it, Shikamaru?" A boy with long hair and a white t-shirt with black trousers asked, while running down the stairs. "Tenten!" He cried and hugged Tenten when he saw his girlfriend. This must be Neji Hyuuga. Temari thought. They kissed for a while and then, Tenten introduced Temari to the guys. "Hey, Neji-kun. This is Temari No Sabaku, my best friend. She's a writer and she came here to gain some ideas." Temari bowed politely and smiled, "Nice to meet you, Neji." "Me too." Neji smiled. "Oh yeah! And this is Shikamaru Nara, the guy I told you about. Shikamaru, Temari also came to ask for help. She's writing a new story about romance." Tenten continued. "Hey, Tenten. Why don't you girls stay here? We have a visitor's room for Temari, and well… Tenten can stay with me." Neji blushed. Tenten hugged Neji, and shone, "Thanks, Neji-kun! Let's go out, shall we?" Temari looked at the couple as they walked away. "Hey… Temari, huh? Have you got lunch yet?" Shikamaru broke the ice first. Temari shrugged, and shook her head. "Wanna go out to have lunch? I'm starving." Shikamaru invited her. "Sure! That'll be great!" Temari smiled and walked away with Shikamaru, side by side.
"Wow! Thanks for the meal, Nara! That's great!" Temari smiled as she got her backpack and ran out of the ramen shop, trying to catch up with Shikamaru. "Mendoskuse… It's nothing…"Shikamaru replied. "Hey, Sabaku. Where do you want to go?" He asked the girls next to him. Temari thought for a while, and told him, "Well… I want to go to the park." "The park?" "Yeah, that's right." "Why?" "I want to do some sketching and writing there." "Why did you choose that place?" "'Cause there's loads of Sakura Trees." "So you're a romantic type of troublesome woman…" Shikamaru teased Temari. "Hmhp! So? I was FORCED to do that kind of work…" Temari yelled angrily. "You came all over the place just to write a perfect piece of writing? You must have lost your mind. Can't you write with your dating memories?" Shikamaru scolded her. Temari looked down to her sneakers and kicked the dust on the ground. Embarrassingly, she said, "I never date." "What?" The boy asked, shocked. "I never date." The Sabaku repeated simply.
"Any love letters?"
"Yeah, but I don't like the one who wrote them."
"Heartbroken?"
"Never fell in love."
"Never?"
"Never-ever."
"Wow… Never thought of it."
"I'm not interested in dating."
"Weird."
"Why?"
"All my friends are dating. I guess you're the same age as mine."
"Guess so. Dating is too troublesome."
"That's what I would say."
"Gomen."
"That's fine."
Weird Silence
"So…" Shikamaru started. Temari looked up with curious eyes. "Have you thought of the perfect article? I hope you did." The boy shone. The girl shook her head, and sighed. The boy WANTED to help her, but how? "Let's go back…" He said, and held her hand. Temari blushed madly, and stammered, "Nara…" "Come on! Let's go before it's late!"