Disclaimer: I do not claim any ownership of Naruto or any of it's characters. This story is completely fictional and is just one of my views of the Naruto universe. If you don't like this pairing you have no obligation to read this story.
Shikamaru stopped and squinted against the glare of the sun coming from the sand. In the distance, he could see the shifting outlines of his destination, Suna, the Village Hidden in the Sand. He was close, but there was nothing between him and the village, other than the long expanse of sand.
"How troublesome." He muttered as he shielded his eyes against the sun. The heat rose off the sand in waves. Shikamaru could feel the wetness forming on his brow.
With slow movements, he grabbed his jacket from the pack he wore, and whipped the sweat from his brow. Even in just his mesh shirt, he was still sweating heavily. He couldn't wait to be out of the sun, even the shade from the few passing clouds provided little relief.
Shikamaru sighed as he made his way down the dune. As he reached the bottom of the dune, something made him stop. Shikamaru glanced around, squinting against the sun, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. He began to move, but stopped as his eyes looked back out over the sand again.
Squinting out across the sand, Shikamaru could see forms beginning to move. He could count at least a dozen figures moving. His muscles tensed as he forced his eyes to adjust to the shifting heat, all of the figures were sand clones. There wasn't a real opponent among them.
'Hmmm, so the real ninja is hiding somewhere.' Shikamaru thought as he continue to approach the clones. His eyes moving from one to the next as he plotted his next move.
Each clone simply stared at him impassively as he approached. Then in one motion, all of the clones seemed to pull seemed to pull a shuriken from their pouch and hurled them at Shikamaru. He easily dodged each of sand shuriken, but then a glint of light caught his attention.
A kunai dagger flew past him, cutting a shallow wound along Shikamaru's arm as he tried to dodge. Following the path of the blade revealed two real ninjas, one male and the other female. Both were wore clothing colored to blend in with the sand. The two ninjas went through a series of hand signs, and the sand in between them and Shikamaru blossomed as more sand clones rose.
Shikamaru clenched his jaw as all the clones charged at once. The two real ninjas vanished among the sand, hiding among the clones to make additional attacks when he wasn't ready for them. The clones were almost on top of him before he acted.
"I don't have time for this, you troublesome lumps of sand!" Shikamaru growled as his hands flew through several hand signs. "Shadow Sewing."
The shadow at Shikamaru's feet heeded his call. It bubbled and surged, stretching out and striking at every clone as soon as the clones were close. Each clone was pierced, grabbed, or crushed by a shadowy tendril that writhed around Shikamaru.
Each clone dissipated back in the sand leaving two figures untouched. The two real ninjas looked around at the piles of sand that had just been their clones before they started to summon more clones, but stopped moving half way through the hand signs. Two shadows stretched over the sand from the mass of writhing tendrils to connect to the feet of the ninjas.
All of the remaining tendrils slowly withdrew back into Shikamaru's shadow as he stood and looked at the two motionless ninjas. He began walking toward them, his jutsu making the ninjas walk toward him, and smiled as he saw both ninjas trying to resist the power his jutsu.
"So where is your third?" Shikamaru called.
The surprised look on the ninjas' face made a smirk play across Shikamaru's face. "Ninja team are usually three man cells. That and there were three different groups of sand clones. Unless one of you is good enough to make two different sets of clones at once, each looking like someone else, there should be one more for your team."
Shikamaru glanced over his shoulder as the sand behind him erupted. A third ninja, another female dressed the same as the others, appeared and just managed to dodge a third shadow as it shot out from Shikamaru's shadow. He followed the dodging ninja with his eyes, admitting to himself that she was good.
The ninja jumped high to dodge another shadow that shot out at her. She reached behind her and threw several kunai and shuriken at Shikamaru as the shadow retreated. With a smirk Shikamaru watched as the retreating shadow suddenly surged upward and knocked every weapon away easily. The sand ninja landed and glared at Shikamaru as she tried to think of something else to do.
Shikamaru blinked and suddenly there was another figure, shrouded by a cloak, standing between the two ninjas. He stiffened slightly at the new arrival, his mind working on what to do next.
"That's enough." A gruff voice called, but not from the figure. It came from somewhere else. "This one is coming with me."
Shikamaru shook his head slowly as the shadows pulled away from the two stopped ninjas and returned to him. "It's about time, Kankuro."
The sand beside Shikamaru began to shift, and a black clad figure rose from the ground. With a simple movement of his hand, the cloaked figure leapt through the air and landed behind Kankuro. Under the hood of the cloak, Shikamaru could see the wooden face of Crow the puppet.
"Glad to see you've improved, leafie."
"Lets just get going." Shikamaru said with a sigh. "I've already wasted too much time with these three."
Shikamaru lead the way, Kankuro followed with the puppet Crow wrapped around his body. The two walked past the two original ninjas without fear. One reached for a weapon, but the glare he received from both Kankuro and Crow stopped him instantly. Kankuro was about to say something when Shikamaru called to him.
"So what? Your own people couldn't handle her?" He questioned as a smile formed on him face.
"Eh, don't ask me." The puppet master countered as he turned back to fall in step with Shikamaru. "She asked for you, so we sent for you. That's all I know."
The dark haired ninja quietly made his way into the room. His eyes moved around the room quickly, settling on the figure laying on the bed. A light sheet covered her body as she slept, the breeze from an opened window stirring her hair lightly. Shikamaru had to smile as he crossed the room and sat in the bedside chair. He glanced at Temari again as she tossed in the bed.
Opening the bag at his feet, Shikamaru pulled out several small jars, a wooden bowl, and a rock. Slowly and methodically he started pouring some of each container into the bowl. Once all of the items were in the bowl, he took the rock and began to grind everything into a fine powder. After he was satisfied with the powder, Shikamaru took a glass from the nightstand and poured part of the mixture into it. The rest of the glass he filled with water.
"Well, you're at least cuter than the last medic ninja they sent."
Shikamaru smiled wide as he turned to see the blond haired sand ninja awake and smiling at him. Temari shifted and slowly sat up in the bed. He noticed that she looked paler than usual, except for a slight flushness in her face.
"Drink this, you troublesome woman." Shikamaru sighed as he handed the glass over.
Temari smiled as brightly as she could before drinking the mixture. It tasted slightly sour, but she drank it down as she thought. She knew he would come. Even if he had a mission coming soon, she knew she just needed to ask and he would come. She finished the glass, and smiled at Shikamaru as he moved over to lay beside her in the bed.
"I may be troublesome," Temari started as she adjusted herself so she could rest her head on Shikamaru's shoulder. "But you still came."