You have no idea how obsessed I am about Naruto! My dash board in Tumblr and Pinterest is filled with my OTPs you cannot believe how flooded it is! Finished all 700 chapters of the manga in 5 days! Plus their babies are so adorable you cannot believe how much I squealed!

OKAY, enough ranting. SHIKATEMA FANFIC HERE I COME!

I give you,

Nara Shikamaru and Temari of the Sand!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto (which is fine 'cause it's already amazing)

*crowd claps, leaves stage*

"See you, crybaby."

Shikamaru sighed as he waved goodbye at the retreating back of a certain Sand kunoich. Temari gave him one last grin before disappearing out of sight. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he headed back towards the Hokage building to report his sendoff of the Suna representative.

The first time he was assigned to escort her around, it was not a very comfortable affair. Temari teased him endlessly about his laziness, his hairstyle, etc. and would constantly be unpredictable, which was really troublesome. It had only been a three day stay, but Shikamaru felt like three years had passed instead, what with her boisterous personality and lively chatter filling up his much preferred quiet life.

Over the course of her visits however, he got used to it and you could say that he looked forward to her comings (but he would never dare say that out loud, mind you). Temari would still be her unpredictable self which Shikamaru would go along with, and Temari would respect his silence and lazy hobbies. Each time they meet, Temari would stay just a bit longer and Shikamaru would wake up just a little earlier to be the first to meet up with her or send her off at the gates. Heck, he had actually volunteered to be her escort one time when other ninja were busy with missions and whatnot.

Shikamaru shook his head in exasperation. Really, the things he did for that woman. It was almost like he liked her or something. He stopped in his tracks, horror planted on his face.

Him? Like her? Temari? If that was the case, it would be too troublesome. He better stop thinking about it lest his brain would get used to that notion.

Thinking of Temari, however, Shikamaru wondered if she would get back to the Sand Village safely. There were rumors of rogue ninja around the borders of Konoha targeting travellers. Some were injured and others disappeared never to be found. If Temari was targeted…Shikamaru scoffed. This was Temari. She could take care of herself.

As he delivered the report to Tsunade, he headed for his favorite spot on cloud-gazing and laid down. Looking up, there was no cloud in sight, leaving the blue expanse of sky bare.

I wonder if Temari is past the border already, he pondered. Catching his train of thought, Shikamaru frowned. He liked to think, but he had never thought about someone this much before. With a loud yawn, the young chunin closed his eyes.

"How troublesome."

=.=

Shikamaru woke up from his light nap, sensing something different in the air. He frowned as he sat up and looked around. The sky was still cloudless, people were still milling about going on with their business, the atmosphere calm. In other words, normal. But something at the back of his mind kept nagging him that something was definitely not normal. And the number one thing the young genius trusted above all else was his mind. His mind was sure that something wrong was going on. The only question was: what?

Looking around, Shikamaru noticed the unusual way the trees stirred in the wind. Despite a steady east breeze blowing against his hair, the tips of the trees moved erratically. Standing up, Shikamaru headed towards higher ground and surveyed the forest beyond Konoha, particularly towards the direction of the Sand Village. Squinting, he could see a blast and trees fell as a sharp wind pierced through before dissipating and turning into a strong breeze.

Shikamaru clenched his fists as he jumped off the building and ran towards the gates of Konoha. There was only one person who could manipulate the wind like that. A certain person handling a tessen. "Temari."

As he neared the gate, he saw Chouji and Ino walking by. They spotted him. "Shikamaru, where you going in such a hurry?"

"Outside." He said shortly. Ino's eyes widened as she followed him.

"Outside?!" She exclaimed. "But no one is allowed to leave without permission unless it's a mission."

"I don't care."

Ino grew shocked. Shikamaru had never broken any rules after being a chunin, deeming it too troublesome to take care of the consequences after. So why now? She asked him that and Shikamaru looked at her, his eyes hard with determination.

"Temari's in trouble."

And with that, he ran on, leaving his speechless teammate behind the gates.

When he arrived at the scene roughly half an hour later, there was no one there. Shikamaru stopped in the middle of the carnage and imagined himself in Temari's situation. 6, no, 7 people surrounded her. Judging from the circumference of the damage she caused, the captors posed enough threat to make her use her fan fully. There were traces of a chase, but it ended in here. She was probably defeated by the sheer difference in numbers, although she probably put up a good fight. Shikamaru knelt down and picked up a broken hair tie.

Hearing a small rustling behind him, he jumped away just as a kunai embedded itself to where he was previously. Landing safely in the shadows of the trees, he pocketed the hair tie and put his hands together, ready to produce a seal. However, nobody came out and Shikamaru could sense no chakra signature around him. Looking closely at the kunai, he could see a red cloth tied around the hilt. He jumped down and picked it up, untying the cloth. Upon closer inspection, he could see that it belonged to Temari. And it had drops of blood on it.

He clenched his fist, a surge of rage and fear welling up inside of him. Temari was in trouble and she needed help.

=.=

"Tsunade-sama, there is someone who wishes to speak to you."

The fifth Hokage looked up from her paperwork and at her assistant, Shizune, who stood in front of her. She asked, "Who is it?"

"Shikamaru from the Nara clan."

"Let him in." She said. Just as Shizune opened the door, Shikamaru strode in and slammed his palms on the table.

"Hokage-sama, Temari is missing! Please allow me to go on a mission and retrieve her!"

Tsunade grew surprised at his interesting approach. Usually, Shikamaru was more laid-back, always complaining about how troublesome things were. But now, "Are you talking about Temari of the Sand?"

"Yes. She's missing." Shikamaru said impatiently. Why couldn't the Hokage understand that the more time they wasted, the smaller the chance that they would find Temari unhurt, or even worse, find her dead.

Tsunade frowned and put down her pen. "But from what you reported seven hours ago, Temari had left Konoha for her village. How do you know that she's missing?"

"Because she was attacked. And when I arrived at the scene, there was no sign of her but evidence showed that she was involved in a conflict." Shikamaru explained as he gave the Hokage the kunai and the tattered obi.

"Are you telling me that you left the village without permission?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes, but that's not important! What's important is that Temari was attacked by a group of rogue ninja near the borders of Konoha and then kidnapped."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed as she gave the materials to Shizune. "Have the lab confirm if it is Temari's." As her assistant left, Tsunade faced the young ninja. "We cannot send anyone to an empty mission with no leads as of yet. We need to confirm with the Sand first if Temari arrived on time."

"But-"

"I am aware of the rumors, Shikamaru." Tsunade said. "But we cannot say if it were really their doing. But if what you say is true and if the Sand confirms that Temari is missing, I will send a team immediately."

Shikamaru sighed. It could take a day, but knowing that all he could do was wait, he left the room. As the door closed, Tsunade retrieved a file from a cabinet and opened it up, showing the file of Nara Shikamaru. He had done quite a number of high-ranked missions, and all of them a success. But there was only one mission that he had failed.

Mission: Retrieval of a Missing Ninja (Uchiha Sasuke)

Team leader: Nara Shikamaru

Team members: Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Neji, Inuzuka Kiba, Akimichi Chouji

Status: FAILED

Additional notes: After this mission, Nara Shikamaru refused to do any missions regarding missing ninja.

Tsunade sighed as she closed the file and leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temples. "Now what do I do with such a troublesome youngster?"

=.=

"You see anything yet?" Ino asked. Shikamaru looked up at the sky, searching for the tell-tale sign of a desert eagle, a messenger bird of the Sand. He shook his head as he withdrew from the window, keeping a close eye on the Hokage's tower. The three young shinobi were seated at a table in a restaurant that had a clear view of the Hokage's building. Ino and Chouji exchanged glances. "Are you sure that Temari-chan really is in trouble?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Yes. If you'd been there, you'd know as well. All the trees were flattened for almost a mile. Also, she used her broken hair tie as a trigger for the kunai to launch when I picked it up. Probably a trick she learned from her brother." Shikamaru glanced up at the sky again. "It's been almost a day. What's the Hokage doing?"

Suddenly, he spotted a red bird dart through the sky and towards the open window of the Hokage's office in incredible speed. His eyes widened as he realized that it was a red desert eagle, the fastest messenger bird only reserved for urgent messages. He got up from the table and dashed out of the restaurant. Ino and Chouji called out to him, but he was already far away.

Shikamaru burst through the office, panting, as Tsunade looked up from the scroll she was reading. "Really, Shikamaru, you're starting to act like Naruto, barging through my office like that, unannounced."

His eyebrow twitched as the comparison with his idiotic friend, but he caught his breath and calmed down. "Pardon me, Hokage-sama."

"No worries." Tsunade waved her hand. Shikamaru looked anxiously at her as she put down the scroll she was reading. "It's just as you said, Shikamaru. Temari has not arrived on time for the meeting and the Sand Village requested the shinobi of the Leaf to do a search for her immediately."

Shikamaru clenched his fists. So he was right. Something he wasn't glad about. "So then when does the team depart?"

"Unfortunately," Tsunade crossed her fingers in front of her and rested her chin on them. "That is classified information for the rescue team only."

The young shinobi stared at her in shock. "But you said-"

"I said I will send a team, I did not say you will be a part of it."

"Why?"

Tsunade gazed at him and sighed. "I've thought a lot about this and true, you are the best man to do the job. If it was someone else who was missing, I would give the mission to you. But this is Temari we're talking about. Right now, you are acting based on your feelings for your friend and that very reason compelled me to leave this mission in someone else's hands."

"But you sent Naruto to retrieve Sasuke because of his feelings."

"And how well did you think that turned out?" Tsunade snapped at him. Shikamaru started to protest, but a question from the Hokage stopped him completely. "Shikamaru, why do you refuse to do any missions involving missing nin?"

She watched his reaction as his eyes widened in shock and then grew guilty. But then his face hardened with resolve and he looked at her straight in the eyes. "I promise you, I won't fail this time. So please let me in this mission, Tsunade-sama. She saved me so many times before. I have to return that favor."

His eyes showed determination and Tsunade could feel a sense of déjà vu from when Naruto had come in her office, demanding that she let him go pursue after Sasuke. That mission had failed. But this time, it was Shikamaru who was determined to save Temari. And when the shadow user was given a responsibility, despite how troublesome it was, he would always pull through.

She sighed. "Very well. I will give this mission to you. Make sure you do not fail this time, or else there's hell to pay with the Sand."

"Hai!"

=.=

"Do you all get the plan?" Shikamaru asked. His teammates nodded. Neji, Kiba, and Chouji were there. Shikamaru stood up and checking his weapons one more time, he said, "Good. Now let's get going."

And with that, four shinobi disappeared from the gates as the headed for a rescue mission once more.

"Man, this makes me nostalgic." Kiba said as the group ran from limb to limb of the trees. "It reminds me of your first mission as a chunin, Shikamaru. Too bad Naruto's not here."

"Focus on the mission at hand, Kiba." Hyuuga said from in front of him.

"I am!" Kiba protested. "Besides, even if I don't smell any danger, Akamaru is." He patted the head of his dog in his jacket. "Also, why'd you volunteer to do this mission, Shikamaru? I thought you hated rescue missions."

Hyuuga turned towards the person in front of the team. "I am curious as well. Why?"

When Shikamaru gave no answer, Kiba said, "I know why! It's because he likes that Sand chick!"

"Shut up Kiba."

Kiba shut his mouth, but not before giving Shikamaru a teasing grin. The chunin sighed as he faced forward again, heading to the rendezvous place with the supporting ninja the Sand Village sent. He had wanted to go straight to the headquarters of the ones who kidnapped Temari, but if she was put down by them, then they were no ordinary rogue ninja.

"Oi Chouji, don't you dare fall behind! I don't want to push your ass forward!" Kiba said in irritation. Shikamaru glanced at them and shook his head.

=.=

When they arrived at the rendezvous point, two ninja were already waiting there. One was a brown-headed boy around Shikamaru's age and the other one was a boy wearing make-up (Face paint, he insisted) and carrying a wrapped puppet on his back. "Kankuro!"

The puppeteer from the Sand looked up and greeted the leader of the team as they landed in front of the Sand shinobi. "Shikamaru! I haven't seen you since that time we saved your asses trying to rescue that Uchiha guy. Temari saved your sorry ass that time."

"And I'm here to return the favor." Shikamaru glanced at his companion. "Who's he?"

"Kouga Yamada. He specializes in shaping forms out of sand." There was a hint of distaste in his voice as Kankuro introduced him to the Konoha shinobi. "He's Temari's fiancé."

All of them stared at Kankuro and Kouga in shock. "WHAT?!"

Kiba scratched his head. "Well, I've heard that she's older than us, but not that old to get engaged."

"Nice to meet you all. I hope we get along well." Kouga said as he bowed down to them, ignoring Kankuro's pointed glare. "It was upon my request that I be in this mission to save my love, Temari."

Shikamaru sighed. How troublesome. "Feelings can get in the way in this mission. Make sure to keep yours in check."

"Yes."

"Like you can talk." Kiba snickered, but then received a jab from Shikamaru.

"Now that we're all gathered, I'd like to tell the plan again." Shikamaru said to them. "The group is an unknown organization that attacks wealthy merchants and travelers commuting around the borders of Konoha. For the past months, their activities have been minimal, but the attack on Temari has finally compelled Konoha to take action. Their objective is unclear, but is believed that they are trying to gain information from her between the Sand and Konoha."

Pausing to let the information sink in, he continued, "Our objective now is to locate and retrieve Temari. We are not to engage into battle unless forced to do so. Our goal is the safety of Temari only. So for now, we'll head to their base located west along the border from here. Once we get there, I will tell you more of the plan."

He looked around. "Is that clear?"

"Yes."

"Then let's move."

As they headed west, Kankuro ran in step with Shikamaru. The shadow user glanced at him. "Kankuro, don't break formation."

"Hey, Shika-chan."

"Don't call me that."

"Shika-chan," Kankuro persisted, "Do something about Kouga."

Shikamaru scowled at him. Ever since being Temari's escort, the siblings had quickly warmed up to him. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, he didn't know. "Don't call me Shika-chan. And what do you want me to do about that guy?"

"I don't know! Something! You're a genius aren't you? He doesn't back off, no matter what I or Gaara do to scare him. I don't want to be related to that guy!"

"Well, sucks to be you." Shikamaru said. "Where's Gaara anyway? I thought it'd be you and him since she's your sister."

"Since being Kazekage, he's been swamped with paper-works and stuff. When he heard about Temari being kidnapped, he was ready to break something, but I convinced him to stay to protect the village." Kankuro explained. "But still, Shikamaru, break off the engagement between them. You like my sister, don't you?"

"No, I don't." Shikamaru said swiftly. He had started to speculate about it, but then when he found out that she was engaged, he banished the thought immediately. "Besides, if she chose him, then I can't do anything. Now go back into formation, Kankuro."

The puppeteer looked at him in disbelief. "I thought you were more than that. Didn't you insist on this mission because of my sister?"

"I'm just returning a favor." Shikamaru said with finality. Kankuro stared at him before frowning and stepping back to his position in the line. Shikamaru continued forward, his hand clutching his chest. The pain still hadn't gone away. He sighed.

How troublesome.

=.=

"I see it." Neji said as he activated his Byakugan. "Their hideout is 500 meters away, located in a tower. Two guards around the perimeter and two on the highest floor. No seals blocking the passages inside. Apparently, they're poorly defended."

"Or they're confident in their abilities. Where's Temari?" Shikamaru asked. They had stopped a fair distance away from the hideout, the moon already rising in the sky.

"She's located in the 5th level of the tower. A majority of the guards are standing there." Neji told him.

"Anything else?"

"Well, there are several people with strong chakra signatures located at the second floor. But only one is guarding Temari."

"What? They think one's enough to put down my sister?" Kankuro asked. "They must be crazy."

"That or Temari's really weak that they don't find her a threat." Shikamaru pointed out. Sitting down on the branch of the tree, he cupped his fingers and closed his eyes. Kouga looked at him in confusion. "What's he doing? We're wasting time sitting here! We have to go and rescue Temari."

"Be quiet, idiot." Kankuro told him. "He's thinking of a plan."

"But-"

The puppeteer cupped his mouth. "Our orders are to follow whatever the team leader says, so just wait. He wants to rescue Temari just as much as you do, but we need a plan."

"You guys are so noisy." Shikamaru opened his eyes and stood up. "Alright, listen up. Since we don't know much of our enemies' strength except by rumors and by what the Hokage has provided, so stay alert. Right now, our priority is to go in, get Temari out and return back to Konoha. So we sacrifice strength for stealth."

As Shikamaru laid out the plan, Kouga asked, "Are you sure this will work?"

"Do you want my honest opinion?"

"Yes."

"Then, no, this won't go 100% as planned. There are unclear elements in the enemy's territory. We should've waited to gather more information, but who knows what will happen to Temari if we delayed any longer." Shikamaru stood up straight and adjusted his gloves. "We don't know fully what's waiting for us so be prepared to improvise the plan if necessary."

Kouga gave a worried look at Kankuro who just grinned. "You scared? Want to back out?"

"No. I have a duty to save my wife." Kouga declared.

Kankuro glared at him. "Hold your horses, you two ain't married yet!"

Shikamaru sighed. "Are you guys ready?" He looked at his team and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he received determined expressions from them. "Don't worry, I chose the best plan that won't get any of you killed."

"We won't fail this time, Shikamaru." Chouji said as he munched on his crisps. Shikamaru gave him a grateful look. No wonder Chouji was his best friend. He knew just when to encourage him.

"Well then, let's go rescue the Sand Princess."

And with that, the group separated, their departure barely leaving a stir in the leaves.

=.=

Temari woke up from her fitful sleep to the sound of a bell clanging overhead and footsteps thundering outside the door. Standing up from the aching position on the cold floor, she walked painfully towards the door of her prison and grabbed the bars. She asked one of the guards, "Hey, what's going on?"

"Be quiet!" He barked at her. Temari glared at him but stepped back into the cell. She looked at the full moon from the small window and saw a spider made of sand crawl through and scuttle across the floor towards one of the guards. She saw the seal of the Kouga Clan on its back and her eyes grew wide. So they had found out. That was quick.

She watched as the sand spider scuttled up and bit the exposed part of the neck of one of the guards. He slapped the back of his neck, but the creature just broke into sand and reformed again to only do the same thing to the other guard. A minute later, the poison got in their system and the two collapsed.

A few seconds later, the door to the room of the prison cells opened and Kankuro and Kiba burst inside. Temari rushed to the front of her cell. "Kankuro! You came!"

"Sister!" Kankuro grinned but then his face darkened at the sight of Temari's sparse clothing and the dark bruises covering her face and body. "Who did this to you?"

"The people who imprisoned me. They tortured me until I ran out of chakra. They were planning to get into my head, but then you guys arrived." Temari said as Kiba got busy unlocking the door of her cell with the bunch of keys in the ring. Growing impatient, Kiba told Temari to step back and then busted the cell open with the combined attack of Akamaru. The iron bars fell with a loud clang. As Temari got out and accepted the cape Kankuro gave her, she said, "My tessen-"

"Temari-san, I have your fan." Neji opened the door and gave her the large weapon. She caught it with ease and sighed in relief when she saw no damage inflicted on it. The Byakugan user told them, "We have to hurry. People are coming up here. We have to escape immediately."

Suddenly, a sand bird swooped in from the window and crumbled, revealing a slip of paper saying: Time's up. Leave now.

Running out of the room, Temari stumbled but regained her footing as they fought through ninja rushing towards them. Chouji crumpled up his snack and turning into a high speed ball, he barreled through the ranks and sent several falling out the windows of the tower.

Temari looked down the railing that overlooked down towards the second floor and saw the fighting arena filled with on lookers, two people in the middle facing off each other. And one of them was manipulating their shadow. Temari called out his name. He didn't look up, but she could see his shadow waver and then grew firm.

"Temari-san, we have to leave now!" Neji said as he stood on the railing of a balcony. A wire ran from the balcony to a tree in the forest. Grabbing Temari's arm, Kankuro lifted her on his shoulder and ran across the line. "Dear sister, I think you have to cut back on the extra dango snacks."

Temari hit him on the head, but she knew that he was trying to distract her. "Shikamaru is going against the leader! Is he crazy?!"

"It's all going according to plan." Neji told her as he followed, with Kiba and Chouji closely behind him. When they finally reached the safety of the trees, Kouga jumped down from the highest point of the towed and cut the wire from the balcony. Grabbing the line, Chouji pulled him.

Kiba landed silently on the tree and grabbed Temari's hand. "My love, you're safe."

"Don't call me that! I didn't agree to the engagement!" Temari snapped as she pulled her hand way. She faced them. "Are you going to just leave Shikamaru behind?!"

"Our priority is to retrieve you and bring you back to the village safely." Neji informed her. "Shikamaru would act as bait while we get you out during the distraction."

"We can't just leave him there!" Temari jumped down from the tree and started to go back to the tower, but was stopped by Neji who landed in front of her. "Move it!"

"No." His cool violet eyes unnerved her, giving away no hint of emotion. "I am under orders that if Temari-san resists, we have to bring her back using force if necessary."

Temari tightened her grip on her fan. "Who gave you that order?"

"Shikamaru-san. You have no chakra. You will do more harm than good if you go now."

They glared at each other, but then Kiba interrupted them. "Hey guys? Remember when Temari shouted Shikamaru's name and everybody heard?" Suspicion was written on his face. "Well then, aren't people supposed to be chasing us right now? How come there's no one after us? You think Shikamaru did something that wasn't part of the plan?"

=.=

A few minutes ago…

I can't believe I'm doing this, Shikamaru thought as he walked boldly towards the front gates of the tower, his hands deep in his pockets.

A guard stepped up in front of Shikamaru and pointed his spear at him. "Halt! Who goes there?"

"Shikamaru of the Nara Clan." He said lazily. And taking out both his hands, he formed a seal and bounded the guy in his shadow. Binding his shadow of the other guard as well, he slammed the two together, causing them to fall unconscious. Looking up, he noted that the moon was already two fists above the horizon. Time to speed things up.

Striding up towards the gates, he kicked them open, causing the doors to slam back on their hinges. Putting down his foot, he strode inside and said loudly, "I am Shikamaru from the Nara Clan! Take me to your leader." Inwardly he cringed at his words. Man, do I sound like Naruto.

As a bell clanged overhead and soldiers flocked towards him, out of the corner of his vision, he could see his team sneak inside the tower. Luckily, they didn't think to put up and barriers. So far, so good.

A bulky man stepped forward and raised his hand, signaling the soldiers to not attack him. "You wish to see our leader, Shikamaru of the Nara Clan?"

"Yes."

The man smirked. "Very well, I will take you to our leader."

As they climbed up the winding staircase to the second floor, Shikamaru wondered if his team got to Temari already. Opening a set of carved double doors, Shikamaru stepped inside and surveyed the area. The second floor was elaborately decorated with carvings of dragons and fire on pillars supporting the upper floors. He looked up and saw that the rest of the remaining levels looked down towards the second floor.

"Captain Guuzen." The man who escorted Shikamaru pushed him forward towards a large man lying down on a pile of silk rugs, a large window showcasing the moon behind him. "Shikamaru of the Nara Clan."

"Shikamaru of the Nara Clan." Guuzen regarded the young shinobi with a lazy eye and Shikamaru did likewise. Guuzen grinned, his teeth pearly white. "I've heard of you. The smartest man in the entire fire nation. Your head is worth hundreds of thousands."

Shikamaru said nothing as Guuzen stood up, his long beaded hair swaying behind him like a mane, giving him the impression of a lion. "Why have you come here, Shikamaru of the Nara Clan?"

They should really stop addressing me with my full title. Don't they get tired of it?

"To take you down." And with that, Shikamaru threw his kunai at the man, an exploding tag attached to it. Guuzen dodged and it hit the silk rugs, causing it to explode, masking the clang in the prison cells and sending plumes of feathers floating around them. Soldiers raised their weapons and aimed for Shikamaru, but Guuzen raised his arm and said, "Stop! He will be my opponent."

Shikamaru took a step back as he put his hands together and formed a seal, his shadow snaking towards Guuzen. He could see the glint of hunger in the man's eyes and he realized that this fight could probably cost him his life. If the night doesn't get to his mind first, of course. Temari's going to kill me if she finds me dead. Shikamaru saw the gleam of a blade and a sweat trickled down his neck. This will not end nicely.

"Shikamaru!" He knew that voice anywhere. With a smirk, his wavering shadow became steady.

Guuzen looked up and his eyes narrowed. He was about to issue an order to capture her, but Shikamaru interrupted him. "Guuzen, I challenge you! Fight with me. Let her go."

Guuzen's hard gaze settled down on him. "Why should I let her go? She has information between the Sand and Konoha."

"As do I." Shikamaru said as his mind raced. The plan was reckless, he had no interest in fighting anyone, but it was the best one he chose between 13 plans in under 2 seconds. "If I win, you'll let me walk away from here."

"And if I win?" Guuzen asked.

"If you win," Shikamaru swallowed, "I will be your prisoner and you can do anything with my mind. Use it, sell it, I won't resist."

Shikamaru saw the man's eyes gleam with greed and he knew that Guuzen had taken the bait. Guuzen eyed him warily. "I will accept your challenge, Shikamaru of the Nara Clan. But what makes you think you have a chance to defeat me?"

"I have this." Shikamaru tapped his head and then struck his shadow towards Guuzen. The man jumped out of the way, but the shadow followed. Running towards the window, Guuzen threw 4 kunai attached with crackling light, leaving no shadow on the floor. Shikamaru leaped out of the weapon's path, the tendril of black retracting back to him.

Guuzen smiled as he took out a long sword. "I've fought many battles before. And one of them a shadow manipulator. You are good, Shikamaru of the Nara Clan, but still young. I shall be taking that brain of yours." And with that, Guuzen grabbed a flaming torch from one of the pillars and charged towards him, slashing his sword down in a deadly arc, only to slice through smoke instead of a body. "Where are you, you little turd?" He snarled.

"Didn't I tell you?" Shikamaru said as he appeared in front of the window, the moon behind his back. "As long as I have my mind, I have chance in beating you."

As he looked at him, Guuzen felt that he had made a horrible mistake.

"Did you know," Shikamaru called out to him, "That in the Nara Clan, there's a famous saying taught to all: 'Darkness is my friend, the shadows my toys.'"

Shikamaru looked at him, boredom etched on his face and for a moment, Guuzen experienced real fear.

"Guuzen," Shadows inched towards him as if they were alive. The moon rose higher as the darkness wrapped around Shikamaru. "Let me show you what it means when you fight a Nara on a full moon night."

=.=

The group outside grew startled as masses of people ran out of the tower, panic sweeping among the fleeing crowd.

"What's going on?" Temari asked in confusion. The people were tripping over each other, trying to get away as fast as possible.

"It's Shikamaru." Chouji said and they all looked at him in puzzlement. "It's one of the Nara Clan's darkness. Every full moon night, if you dare fight a Nara and get them riled up, your chance of escaping the fight unhurt is zero to none. But it's extremely dangerous for Naras because despite given endless supply of chakra and strong shadows by moonlight, they will lose their minds."

"Is that why Shikamaru doesn't like fighting?" They asked. Chouji nodded. They looked back at the now deserted tower with only Shikamaru and the leader left inside.

Temari clenched her iron fan. "I'm going back inside."

"It's too dangerous. All we can do is wait for the moon to sink and for daylight to come." Chouji said but the Suna Princess ignored him. "Shikamaru won't be able to distinguish between friend and foe."

"Then the more reason I have to go."

Exchanging glances, they all followed Temari as they rushed back inside.

=.=

It's dark. Why is it dark?

Shikamaru opened his eyes and looked at the scene in front of his with a obscured vision.

I see…The shadows got me.

It was like looking through someone else's eyes. He felt like he was in somebody else's body as he relentlessly attacked Guuzen with his shadows. Long tendrils snaked up towards the other soldiers as well, slicing their throats or swallowing them in the darkness.

No. Stop. Don't kill anyone.

But all he could do was watch as the darkness took control of his being. As the remaining people rushed out of the room, all who remained was him and Guuzen. The man was able to keep his shadows at bay with the torch, but it wouldn't last.

As the edges of his vision started to go black, he had one last thought.

How troublesome.

=.=

"Shikamaru!"

Temari burst open the set of double doors and stopped, fear gripping her heart. This wasn't the Shikamaru she knew. The chunin had Guuzen up by his neck, a sharp shadow about to slice his throat. Her fear bristled into anger. "That's enough. Put him down."

When he didn't reply, Temari opened her fan and sent tendrils of whirlwind towards him. Shadows snaked up much like Gaara's sand and protected him, dissipating the winds. Shadows attacked her, but Kankuro pushed her out of the way and got caught in its grip instead. "Brother!"

The shadow whipped him away, sending him crashing at a pillar. The other four attacked him, but he threw them away as well. As Shikamaru's clouded gaze settled on her, Temari gritted her teeth as she sent one last wave of wind towards him.

Once again, the shadows protected him. But that wasn't what she was aiming for. What she was aiming for was the curtain behind him. Using her wind, she had closed the curtain, cutting off the moonlight and sending the room into darkness. She could hear a thud and a scramble as Guuzen ran out of the room.

Temari strode towards Shikamaru whose shadows writhed around him. "Stay away."

"No." Temari said stubbornly. And closing her fan, she hit him in the face, sending him flying across the room. Running towards him, she knelt down, grabbed his collar and slapped his cheek. "Wake up, Nara!"

Shikamaru blinked and as his eyes lost their haze, his shadow returned to normal. Shaking the drowsiness from his head, he looked up at the cautious yet concerned expression on his friend's face. "Temari? What happened?"

Temari gave him the widest and brightest grin he had ever seen before tackling him into a bear hug. Shikamaru's ears turned red. "Temari, you're choking me."

"Oh! Sorry!" She released him and quickly got up. Holding out her hand, Shikamaru accepted as she pulled him up. Looking around, Shikamaru saw his fallen comrades on the floor and the destruction around the room.

"I did this…?" As his friends got up and walked towards him, Shikamaru put his hand on his forehead. "I failed again. You guys got hurt again and it's my fault."

"You weren't yourself, Shikamaru. It was the shadows." Chouji said.

Kiba patted his back. "Don't blame yourself."

"You didn't hurt us that much, so I believe that you still had your self-control." Neji told him. They all nodded in agreement.

"But-"

"I'm safe, Shikamaru." Temari grabbed his cheeks and forced him to look at her. "Your mission is a success. Or are you going to cry again, crybaby?"

Shikamaru gazed at her emerald eyes before looking away. "You're right, I'm sorry."

Temari let go of his face and put her hands on her hips. "Now there's the Shikamaru I know."

Facing towards his team, Shikamaru apologized. "I'm sorry, you guys. I wasn't myself."

"That's okay, Shika-chan." Kankuro grinned. "Although Temari had to save your ass again."

They all laughed and proceeded to go back to Konoha. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Shikamaru walked behind them. As they walked out, he said to Temari, "By the way, I heard that you got engaged."

Temari groaned. "How troublesome."

"Anything I can do?" Shikamaru offered. Temari looked at him and grinned slyly.

"You could marry me instead."

She laughed out loud as Shikamaru almost tripped at the outrageous remark, and slapped his arm. "I was kidding."

With that, she walked ahead. Shikamaru glared at her back and then sighed as he scratched his head. Really, that woman would be the death of him someday. His heart had nearly stopped at her declaration.

How troublesome.

=.=

"Congratulations on the success of your mission." The fifth Hokage said and Shikamaru smirked, a surge of pride growing inside him. It lessened though with her next statement. "Although the one being rescued did the rescuing instead. But still, well done Shikamaru."

"Thank you." As Tsunade dismissed him, she changed her mind and called out to the young chunin. "Oh and Shikamaru?"

He stopped and turned to look at her. She smirked. "From now on, you will be Temari's official escort and partner when she's here."

"What? Why?" Shikamaru asked in dismay. He had actually planned to stay away from the Sand kunoich just to he could sort out the feelings he had for her. That is, if he really did have feelings for her.

Apparently, he did although he wasn't as aware of it as the Hokage who just grinned. As a shinobi, emotions would get in the way of work and probably hinder it. But Shikamaru was also a growing fifteen year old boy who complained endlessly of his boring life. And so, Tsunade decided to put matters in her own hands by playing matchmaker. "You both operate well together and give excellent performance in completing your work on time, so why not?"

Shikamaru inspected her closely, but nothing betrayed the fifth Hokage's face. With a sigh and a mutter of 'how troublesome', he said, "Fine." And walked out the door.

=.=

"So, how long are you going to stay here in Konoha?" Shikamaru asked the Suna princess who was lying down in a hospital bed, eating dango. She offered him some and he took a stick, munching on one before repeating his question.

"The day after tomorrow." She told him as she threw her stick in a trash can overflowing with discarded dango sticks. "I would have been stuck here longer if you hadn't arrived as soon as you did so thanks for that."

Shikamaru smiled as he threw his stick on the growing pile. "No problem."

A comfortable silence settled between them as Temari offered him more of the sweet. As he accepted and was about to take a bite, Kankuro and Kouga burst in the room and bumped into Shikamaru, who almost stabbed himself. He scowled at Kankuro, who had taken a hold of his pant leg. "Shika-chan! Do something!"

"Don't call me that!"

The puppeteer pointed at Kouga, who was reaching out to Temari, who in turn kept him at bay with the sharp end of a dango stick. "Do something about him! He's going to make me sick with all the marriage talk!"

"How troublesome." Shikamaru sighed. As he looked at Kouga, he could feel a slight irritation at the guy's open affections and a plan formed in his head. "Hey, Kouga."

The sand artist looked at him. "What is it?"

"I challenge you to a duel." This was troublesome, but since Kankuro had asked so much and he owed Temari a great deal, Shikamaru couldn't refrain from helping them.

Kouga straightened. "A duel? What for?"

"A duel for Temari's hand."

There was a deafening silence as the three shinobi of Suna looked at the reddening Shikamaru in disbelief. Kankuro was the first to break the silence. "Kouga accepts!"

Kouga glared at Kankuro before facing the chunin. "Do you realize what you're doing?"

"Yes, I'm aware."

"Very well then. I accept. What type of duel will it be?"

"Shogi." Shikamaru said.

Kouga smirked as the Sand Siblings looked between the two. "Are you sure about that? In Suna, I am unrivaled in the game of shogi."

"Then it's settled." Producing a shogi set out of nowhere, he laid it out on Temari's bed. It was quite an interesting view, really, where two played a game of shogi in the middle of a hospital bed, the patient munching on dango as she and her brother watched the game progress.

Shikamaru grinned inwardly as Kouga took one of his pieces. The Suna shinobi was good. He hadn't had as much of a challenge since Temari. But he wasn't good enough.

"Checkmate." Shikamaru laid down his piece, ending the game in eight moves. Kouga could do nothing but gape at what just happened. The young shinobi stood up and flicked his dango stick in the trash. "Looks like your engagement is off."

As he kept away the pieces, Kouga asked him, "So then you plan to marry my Temari?!"

"Hey! She's not yours anymore!" Kankuro shouted at him.

Shikamaru carried the game set under one arm and proceeded to walk out the door saying, "Nope. Marriage is too troublesome."

=.=

"I knew I'd find you here."

Shikamaru opened one lazy eye and was greeted by the smug grin of Temari in a hospital gown looking down at him, blocking the sky behind her.

"Are you supposed to be walking about when you're still low in chakra?" He asked, eyeing her as she sat down beside him in the rooftop of the hospital.

"I heard from Tsunade-sama." Temari said, ignoring his question. She looked at him with curiosity. "How did you know I was in trouble?"

"…the wind."

"The wind?"

Shikamaru looked up and watched a cloud drift by before answering. "The wind felt different that day. Every day, it was a boring breeze in Konoha. So when the wind didn't feel right, I knew something was wrong. Turns out, I was correct."

"I heard you were really insistent in saving me."

"Just returning a favor." He mumbled. Temari chuckled as she gazed up at the sky.

After a while, "I'm grateful. Thank you, Shikamaru. For saving me and dealing with the engagement as well, although you really didn't need to do that. Nevertheless, I'm glad that you're my friend." As she heard Kankuro screaming her name in the hallways, she sighed and got up. "Well, I'd better go before my brother wakes up the dead. See you around, lazy bum."

Shikamaru raised his hand in parting before setting it back behind his head.

"Friend, huh." For some reason, he didn't really feel satisfied with being just friends. "How troublesome."

=.=

Directly after being released from the hospital, the three Suna shinobi had quickly packed their things to get home. Shikamaru was there to send them off. "See you next time, crybaby. But since you didn't mess up the mission, I can't call you that anymore, can I?"

"I told you, didn't I? That I'd do fantastically next time." Shikamaru smirked.

Kouga pointed at him. "I'll defeat you next time!"

"I'm looking forward to it." Shikamaru said and he meant it.

"Shika-chan!" Kankuro draped his arm around Shikamaru's shoulders. "Too bad you don't want to get married to nee-chan. I wouldn't have minded you as my brother-in-law!"

"Don't tease him, Kankuro." Temari scolded. He just grinned as he let go of the Konoha shinobi. She waved at him. "Goodbye Shikamaru. Until next time."

Shikamaru nodded. "Stay safe. I don't want to do something as troublesome as saving you again."

Temari made a face at him before smiling. "Don't worry, I won't."

As they walked away, Shikamaru closed his eyes. The wind had returned to normal again, sending a gentle breeze through his hair. A thought ran through his head.

Temari was just like the wind.

Unpredictable. Surprising. Stubborn.

Troublesome.

But then again, he wouldn't have it any other way.

Fin.

LONGEST ONESHOT EVER! I am now dead from typing it all up in one go. Sorry for any grammatical mistakes and other errors since I finished this a little after midnight! Also, I hope I got the characters' personalities right. I know Shikamaru was a bit weird when he found out Temari was in danger, but hey, he was acting out with his feelings so…

Anyway, I hope you guys liked it! And if you're reading this, that means that you've finished until the end, which I'm really grateful for!

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! And if you favorite and reviewed, well, thank you in advance as well!

See ya'll next time! (The next fanfic won't be as long and as random as this)

*crowd claps, leaves stage*