Temari was sick of being followed around like a child. She had been to the leaf village so many times before and this visit wouldn't be any less dangerous then the others. But they insisted in Shika to watch her like a baby. Like a graduate! She got to the boarder of the leaf village and there he was, leaning against the gateway, looking to be taking a nap. She sneered and crossed her arms walking up to him.
"Working hard again I see.." she said loudly. Shika sighed and cracked an eye open.
"Took you longer to get here this time. You know I have better things I could be doing then standing here waiting for you." He pushed himself off the wall and stretched.
"Like what? Laying out in the field ignoring the day? Goofing off somewhere with your large friend?" Shika smirked, sticking his hands in his pockets.
"Chouji."
"Whatever. I'm only going to be here for a day and then I'm going home. So you really don't have to trouble yourself and disturb your other plans for me." She gave him the same coy smile back and started to walk past him. Shika turned on his heels and started after her. And he ran into her when she stopped. "I said you don't have to follow me!"
"And I have orders. Sorry, I'm stuck with you till you go."
"Like hell you are. I don't need a lazy ass like you following me around like I'm an incompitant child. I'm sure your Sensei can find you something better to do." She stopped biting her lip. It was a good thing she wasn't facing him, because she knew she'd crossed a line. She had forgotten that not long ago, Asuma Sensei had been killed. There was a scuffling behind her and the sound of a match igniting. Standing beside her, he lit the smoke and tossed the match.
"Fine. Sure I can find something better to do." And in an instant he was gone. Temari looked around, but he had vanished. She sighed and walked into the village. She didn't need him to watch her. But she did wish he would come back so she could apologize.
It was later that evening, after she had run into Naruto and Sakura that they all went out to dinner with their Sensei Kakashi who had just gotten back from a field mission. "Where is Shika?" he noticed as they all started in on their noodle bowls. Temari placed her chopsticks down, sitting up straighter.
"I told him I didn't need a babysitter anymore and that he could do as he wished with his day." Of course she hadn't really said it as nicely as that, and she left out the part about opening a healing wound. Kakashi blinked a few times and went back to his dinner. "So, I'm sure he did that." She wasn't hungry anymore. Temari had tried to push back what she had said to him, but now it was playing all over again.
"Shika may be cocky and lazy at times. But, he's grown up a lot the past few years and he professional. I'm sure he's still close by," Kakashi mumered over his noodles. He swallowed and looked up. "Then again..he can also be an asshole more often then not and he may have gotten frustrated with you and given up."
"Or maybe some things were said.." It was then an alarm sounded at the edge of the village.
"Invasion! Probably the Mist Village again. They're not very happy with us after the last mission we went on. Naruto you come with me. Temari and Sakura you two go together. We'll meet at the gates when the all clear sounds." They all took off in different directions, looking for members of the Mist clan.
Both girls ran through the allies of the village, the flash of a headband catching Temari's attention. Sakura had kept running, but Temari knew she had to follow this guy. She took after him on her own, heading to the edge of the village. The other ninja must have sensed he was being followed and took the trees of the forest. She lept after him, reaching for the kuni in her pouch.
She stepped down on another branch and it gave out without warning under her. She fell to the forest floor, unable to stop herself quick enough, hitting her head on the ground.
Back in the village, the raid was halted quickly. The invaders were lined up at the gates of the village beaten and tired. Kakashi stood before them, his students at his side. "I don't know what you're looking for, but the battle we fought ended in the forest. We've left all of your men alive and now you can leave."
"Lair!" one yelled. Kakashi looked at him and walked over. "There's only six of us here."
"There was someone else?" He looked to the other Ninja's there, who shook their heads. They had only found the six. "Perhaps they already left. Either way..you're the ones that invaded us and we have every right to kill you for it. But we won't. As for your commrade..sure he's not to far off." However, it did bother him that they hadn't found them all. "If we find him, we'll send him your way."
Temari started to come to, sitting up slowly. How long had she been out for? It was still dark outside, so it hadn't been to long. It was quiet out here at night and the shinobi she was following could be watching her from anywhere. At least she thought that until he fell beside her, dead. She kept herself from yelling and looked up seeing Shika in the tree. He jumped down as well and kicked the body over. "Don't need me huh?"
"I don't. I would have been able to take him."
"Sure..passed out on the ground. I should have waited and watched instead." A cold breeze blew threw the woods and she shivered slightly. Shika rolled his eyes and unzipped his vest. "Here."
"I don't need it, thank you."
"Just take it. Its freezing out here and you don't have sleeves."
Neither does your vest, she thought to herself, but the jesture was shivaless. She took the vest from him and zipped it up. It was warm from him wearing it and it smelled like him. She looked back to him, but he seemed off somehow. Sweating even though it was very cold outside. "We should get back to the village. Make sure everythings all right." Temari snapped back. Why was she staring at him?
"Yeah.." They started walking along. "Thank you..for saving me. And I'm..sorry about before. I didn't think before I spoke and I was out of line." She didn't look at him when she spoke. She was embarassed for what she said and the vest was sticking to her dress. What did he have in his pockets? She reached inside the jacket, feeling around and pulled her hand out, something dark on it. She smelled it and instantly she knew what it was.
"Why do you have blood in your-" Looking up, she saw him fall into a nearby tree, slidding down it. "Shika!" Running over to his side, she kneeled down, checking to make sure he wasn't dead. He wasn't, but he was pale and clearly in pain. "Where? What happened?"
"Shinobi buried a kuni in my side and I buried one in his head. Seemed like the right thing to do. He was about to stick it in you and I figured seeing as I'm suppose to be looking out for you..really are more troublesome.." He winced trying to get up again, but she pushed him back taking a look at his side. She could barely make out the handle of the kuni sticking out of him from his shirt. She didn't dare take it out herself.
"He was going to kill me.."
"But you were just about to wake up and take care of him yourself. Would have saved me a lot of pain and trouble if I had left well enough alone. Mind kicking me for myself, can't really do it at the moment."
"Shut up. I'm sorry, all right?" He smiled and tried to push himself up against the tree again. "What are you doing? You shouldn't be moving."
"Have to get you back to the village. I'm sure they're looking for you and I can get this pain in my side taken care of." She got up quickly and put his arm over her shoulder. "What are you doing?"
"Helping you. Repaying the favor. You wouldn't be hurt if you left well enough alone. I'm a shinobi too, I could have taken care of it myself." There was a rustling above them. His hand slid off her shoulder and around her waist, pulling her around the tree and against him. His other hand covered her mouth as she went to yell at him for grabbing her. Above them came voices which grew louder and stopped. There was movement in the treetops and then the sound of soft feet on the ground. Some yelled in rage and others in sadness.
"Seems his friends found him," Shika whispered, his voice hinting at the pain he was in. Temari was pressed closely to his chest, not sure what to do exactly. He wasn't letting her go anytime soon and she actually felt safe in his arms. He was warm and comfortable. It sounded as though the others were leaving and Shika pushed off the tree slowly, pulling at his side. He looked as though he was about to yell and there were a number of ways she could have shut him up.
The Mist ninja's stopped, thinking they heard something, but moved on to bring their fallen back to their village. Behind the tree, Temari's lips were pressed tenderly to Shika's. Both slid down the tree and she pulled back, blushing. "I'm sorry! I don't know why- I didn't mean to- Are you all right?"
He was in complete shock, blushing himself. It was dark outside and he couldn't really make out her face. So chances were, she didn't see it. "Yeah..moved wrong."
"We need to get you back to the village." She got up, offering her hand to him and he took it, his other hand supporting his side. Slowly, the two started walking back through the woods.
"So is that how you shut everyone up? You kiss them?" She scowled, but she wouldn't let him get to her.
"No. It was the quickest thing I could think to do." She wouldn't mention it was her first kiss. There was no way Temari would let him hold that over her.
"Right." They weren't as far from the village as he'd thought and he could see the lights from it reflecting in the distance. His pace wasn't as fast as before and their walk was becoming more and more leisurly. "Figures..the one time I leave you alone and you get yourself in trouble."
"Shut up! You need to keep your focus on walking and getting back to the village, not pointing out the obvious." He stopped walking and she groaned, feeling his body getting heavier. "Shika..Shikamaru we need to keep moving. Please?" Her voice sounded a little more stressed now.
"Hey..Temari.." He turned to her, that coy smile shinning through.
"What?" Why was he smiling? Did he think he was getting another kiss from her? Because the first one was a fluke. At least, she was telling herself that.
"Duck.." Temari stepped back, more then sure he must have been losing his mind, until he pulled her aside and dodged himself. The Mist Shinobi were back, launching another attack on them. She was able to stay on her feet and fight, sending her share of Shinobi on their ass. Temari couldn't keep track of Shika though. For someone who was staggering around just minutes, he moved when he had to.
The Shinobi from the Mist Village lunged at Shike, pushing him into the tree more, the kuni pushing further into him. Shika yelled. "Troublesome bastard!" he yelled, kicking him back. He slid back, almost falling out of the tree, but turned back to watch Shika perform some kind of jitsu.
Finally, Temari caught sight of him in the trees. Just as she was about to call to him, there was a massive explosion. She recognized the attack immediately as Shika's finishing move. The force sent her sliding across the forrest, but she wasn't hurt. The dust settled and the remaining Mist village members were scattered.
The sound of the blast was heard by Kakashi and the others and they arrived moments later on the scene. "Temari!" he yelled, running up to her. "Thank goodness you're all right."
"Only because I was watching her." Shika emerged from the tree, bloody kuni clenched in his hand. He needed one for his attack and the one in his side had been the closest one available. "You're all right, yeah?"
"I'm fine," she said very to the point, but it was only to hide her mixed feelings. She was worried about him, but he didn't need to know that. "You?"
"Glad you're all right," he whispered. His legs buckled under him and he collapsed. Kakashi caught Shika before he hit the ground.
"No! Shikamaru!" Temari ran over, kneeling down in front of him. But he wasn't down long. Kakashi picked him up, taking off through the forest, back to the village. Temari got up, running after them. "You can't die Shika! You're to damn lazy to bother dying!"
It took no time to get back to the village and Kakashi immediately took Shika to a healer. Temari stopped outside, sitting down on the porch. Moments later, she was joined by Naruto and Sakura. "Temari! Are you all right?"
"What happened?" Sakura said between deep breaths. It seemed they'd both been running around looking for her. Temari looked up at them, the collar to Shika's vest brushing against her face. She realized she was still wearing it. Temari pulled it around her more and looked away from them.
"The Mist Village..they attacked us in the woods. And that idiot protected me instead of worrying about himself. I told him he didn't have to watch after me." She frowned, letting the vest go.
"Actually.." Naruto shuffled his feet, sticking his hands in his pockets. Sakura and Temari looked to him. He was keeping something from them. "..Chouji..is suppose to be watching you right now."
"What? But Tsunade-"
"After Asuma Sensei was killed, she felt that he was too upset to really worry about anyone else. So this visit, she had Chouji fill in for him. But before you showed up he told Chouji that he wanted to look after you. I guess it was his way of keeping his mind off what happened." Temari couldn't believe what she was hearing. He hadn't seemed any different. No; that wasn't true. How kind his words had been when he knew she was all right, how he put everything into protecting her. "Might not seem it and he may have been pretty lazy..well he is. But he never really complains about looking out for you." Naruto stopped, seeing Temari as he hadn't really before. She looked worried, confused and maybe even a little bit scared.
"Um..Shika's tough. He'll be fine, once he gets fixed up, right Sakura?"
"Yeah! Nothing to worry about." Sakura sat down beside her, to wait for some news. News came a few hours later. Kakashi emerged from the hut, scratching his head. Naruto was the first to notice him and he smiled at his Sensei.
"Well?! He's alive right? Good as new?" Temari and Sakura were also looking to him now. Kakashi sighed and sat down beside the girls, looking out over the village.
"He's alive." There was a sigh of relief amongst them all, but Kakashi wasn't done just yet. "The kuni was jammed between some ribs and he did more damage to himself pulling it out, but if he hadn't when he did, the Mist village might have killed you two. Funny how things play out that way. And to think they went to such extents.."
"Can I see him?" They all looked to Temari who was on her feet.
"He's sleeping. Pretty worn and torn looking-"
"Then can I sit with him till he wakes up. There's something..I have to say to him. And I would like to tell him as soon as possible." She looked Kakashi straight in the eyes, her calm demeaner returned to her. "That, and he had a responsibility to stay with me while in the village and I would hate for him to get in trouble because of this."
Kakashi shrugged. "Who am I to stop you?" Temari walked past him, and made her way into the hut. He stood, stretching. "I think, it would be best if we all called it a night. We're safe for now and Temari is well watched." Glancing up at the rooftop, Kakashi caught sight of Chouji, laying there.
Inside, Temari made her way over to Shika, who was laying asleep on a mat on the floor. His hair had been let down and he'd been cleaned up. His chest was well wrapped and he seemed to be sleeping painlessly. Though it was hard to tell. He was frowning in his sleep. Awake or not, the boy never seemed to smile much. Temari kneeled down beside the mat and took his vest off. The inside was still bloody. Next to Shika's bed, was a bowl of water and a wet rag. Taking it, she carefully cleaned the inside of the vest and laid it out to dry. She folded her hands in her lap and watched him sleep.
"You're still an idiot," she whispered, "even if..what you did for me was more then I could have imagined. You surprised me, Shikamaru. You saved me and for that-" His hand slipped off his chest and his hand opened up to her, but he was still fast asleep. Reaching her hand out, she looped her pinky with his. "No ones..ever risked themselves like that for me before. I'm greatful. More then I may show."
It wasn't until the next morning that Shika finally came around. He seemed to be alone, which he had almost expected. Until he realized how cool the room was and the only part of his body that was not was his hand. Someone had been here, but how long they'd been gone he wasn't sure. Just then, the door to the hut opened and Temari made her way in. "I see you decided to wake up."
"I can always go back to sleep." He smirked. "You been here all night?"
"No. I left and got some sleep and then I had the meeting I came her for in the first place. Which, was rather uneventful." She had stayed with him all night, but he didn't need to know that. She had gone to the meeting; that wasn't a lie. "How are you feeling?" She walked over to him again and kneeled down in her spot from before.
"Hurt. But I'll live." He shrugged, eyes drifting around the room again. It was then, he noticed his vest neatly folded beside his pillow.
"I washed it for you. Thank you, for letting me burrow it."
"Uh..yeah." He felt his face grow warm, remembering the events of the night before. "So..ah..you don't have to stick around now, right? Meetings over. Sure you could go home-"
"I want to stay." Shika blinked a few times and looked back at her. Her hands were holding her dress tightly, but her eyes burned into his. "I just want to make sure you're really all right.."
"I am.." But he didn't want her to leave. "But if you really want to stay-"
"I do." Her hand took his again and for the first time, he saw her smile. It wasn't anything huge, but it was sincere. Shika returned it and closed his eyes, drifting off again. Temari sighed, watching him fall asleep.
A month later, Temari was making her way back to the Leaf Village for another meeting. When she saw the gate, her steps got a little quicker, but she was surprised to see Chouji, leaning there instead of Shika. Chouji cracked an eye open and straightened out. "Have a nice trip?"
"Where's Shika?" Chouji sighed and crossed his arms, reaching into his jacket. He pulled out a bag of chips and sat down on the ground.
"No one told you then.." Temari's heart skipped, but she didn't express it.
"I've heard nothing since I left."
Chouji looked up at her. "Shika didn't make it. His wounds were to bad." Temari faultered, taking a few steps back. It couldn't be. When she left the healer had said he would recover completely. It was then, she backed into something. Or someone. Whipping around, she looked up at..Shika. But he wasn't looking at her. He was scowling at Chouji, who was grinning from ear to ear.
"I ask you to watch out for her, while I take a piss and this is what you do?"
"Oh come on Shika. Wanted to see how bad she has it for you!" He laughed, even when Shika attempted to blow Chouji up. His friend grabbed his bag of chips and took off into the trees. "Moron," he muttered, "Sorry about him.."
"See how bad I have it for you?" Shika looked down at her. Temari looked like her normal pissed off self at him. "Just WHAT did you tell him?"
"I didn't- He assumed everything! He saw you sitting with me and made up his own story!" She crossed her arms and walked away from him heading into the village. "So what?! Are you gonna just walk around without me again? You know what trouble you-"
"Are you coming, or are you going to stand there and yell at me all morning?" Shika stopped as she turned around to him. Her arms uncrossed and her hands hung down at her side. His own hands moved to his pockets and he walked after her catching up. She reached over, taking his hand from his pocket and looped their pinkys together.
"People are gonna talk." Shika muttered, but he didn't pull his hand away.
"Let them." They started walking together like that through the village, no one stopping, no one really paying them any mind. It was like they'd been that way all along.
-End-