This is the first time that I've ever written for Naruto, and it's a ShikaTema. Please review and tell me what you think!

She didn't realize how much he meant to her until he was gone. Her feelings would never reach him where he was now. They had always teased each other mercilessly, but now she finally recognized that he did it because he cared. Usually it was to "troublesome" for him to do things like that with anyone. In fact, he seemed to have a special reserve of his lazy insults just for her.

When the blonde entered the Hidden Leaf Village she was surprised to see a new ambassador's guide awaiting her. Shoving down the disappointment she refused to acknowledge even to herself Temari greeted him neutrally not worried about her usual escort. 'Knowing him he was probably too lazy to get himself to the village's entrance. To "troublesome" as he would say,' she muttered to herself. Snorting at her own thoughts she followed the unfamiliar guide into the part of Konoha where she would be working. By now she knew the way, but it was polite to follow the person showing you around. 'Shikamaru always walks next to me,' she couldn't help thinking.

Temari only started to get suspicious when most of the rowdy chuunin from Shikamaru's year were either absent from the streets or abnormally quiet, keeping to themselves. She also neglected to see a single Nara out and about in the village. Refusing to ask what was going on the blonde resumed thinking about what kinds of things she had to arrange for the year's chuunin exams.

It was late into the night when a visitor appeared outside her hotel room door. Expecting it to be more paperwork for her to complete she was shocked to see a tearful Inoue staring at her with a dejected expression. From the looks of it she had been crying for quite some time.

"I can't believe that no one's thought to tell you yet," she whispered quietly. "But you deserve to know." Her voice quavered and almost cracked as she continued. "Shikamaru-" Her own sobbing cut her off. "He's dead." The world crumbled around her as the words hit home. Shikamaru dead? No, that couldn't be true! The capable man she knew was much too crafty to be taken down by just anyone-! The dark haired Leaf ninja could outsmart just about every opponent he faced, even if it meant retreating before a second wave of attacks. Besides, he should have been in the village, so how…?

"He got sent on a mission during the gap between your visits. The team he had been given was far inadequate for the job. When it came down to it he was the only one that wasn't incapacitated. He tried to fight off their attackers alone to save his team's lives. You know how sensitive he is about that."

How could she forget? After his first mission as a chuunin leader Shikamaru had had a breakdown when all of his team were in the hospital with critical conditions. The poor guy was basically in tears, slurring out how he had led them all to their deaths. Temari remembered feeling so sorry for him when he walked past her, not even bothering to call her a "troublesome women." He was always laid back, but the lack of life in his blank, troubled eyes disturbed her. When they met again she had been relieved to see that their usual shining intelligence had returned.

"While they escaped he was killed. From what the team says there was no way that he should have lasted even a moment against his opponents, but …" Inoue stopped to calm herself down before continuing. "He fought with those guys for almost an hour to give his team the chance to get away. One of our jounin teams recovered his body last night. Tears stained the neckline of her shirt. "It's destroyed. No one knows how he managed it. But he always was smart, huh?" His former team-mate tried to smile and just ended up choking up further.

"Thank you for informing me," the Sand ninja managed to utter before turning away to hide the salty droplets that she was unable to stop from falling. They dripped down onto her hands, which were clenched in front of her. Running as fast as she could Temari flung the window open and leapt out onto the roof. Minutes later she was whipping out her fan and destroying the surrounding forest.

"How could you?" She screamed angrily, almost calling out her ferret to increase the destruction. Screaming at the newly-made clearing Temari openly cried out for her friend. He could have been something more if only she had said something earlier. "How could you leave me without saying goodbye?"

The last time she had seen Shikamaru was leaving Konoha to return to her home village to sort out some paperwork issues. It astounded her how much got lost in communication between hidden villages. Her dark haired companion had simply patted her once on the shoulder and drawled,

"See you next time."

"Where's the next time, huh?" She wailed forlornly. "You fool I'm never going to see you again!" Admitting it out loud somehow made it real. Of course before she had known it was, but now that she had said it Temari saw the truth painfully clear. Shikamaru was never coming back. When she would look upon his annihilated remains the blank look in his eyes would be back and the playful insults would never leave his mouth. The decimated forest around her seemed to scream in pain, only making her harmonize with her own heartbreak further.

The following day Temari attended Shikamaru Nara's funeral. She stood among his close family and friends, her dark habit reflecting her mood. Her hair wasn't in its usual style, instead it was down. The ends were wavy and frizzed out in some places. As she silently cried alongside the others she took her turn to place down her flower. As she placed her gift she thought, 'Wait for me you troublesome guy. I'll come to you soon enough.'