I've become impossible holding on to when
When everything seemed to matter more
The two of us
All used and beaten up
Watching fate as it flow down the path we
Have chose
Lyrics from "We're In This Together" by Nine Inch Nails
Panting, they caught eyes. At this point, he knew they were both just running on fumes, almost at the limits of their chakra. It wouldn't be long now.
A quick nod of their heads, and he and Temari moved back to back. They were surrounded, but they would continue fighting on, to the bitter end.
And that is when Shikamaru spotted them. A brief glint of kunai in the sunlight, as they flew through the air. There was no way to stop them all. He didn't have the chakra. If he dodged, they would find their home in her. He knew it instantly. He didn't move, deflecting as many of the kunia with his own as he could, but took the hit of the others.
He felt the piercing, fiery pain as they tore into him. Felt as his legs buckled and he began to drop, but the pain disappeared as he fell. There was too much. His body shut down feeling such things. It was too overwhelmed. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. Blackness was closing in on his vision. Temari turned and their eyes caught before the black consumed. Her dirt, sweat, and blood speckled face, still couldn't distract him from her eyes. He could see it all, in them, in an instant, her panic and fury. She was the most terrifyingly beautiful thing he'd seen; somehow, she always was.
Now there is just darkness. The last thing he heard was her painful scream, then he was pulled into nothingness.
"You leave, tonight." He said it quietly.
"What?" Temari looked up, from the papers and a map spread on the table.
"Leave." Shikamaru said it again. They had been going over defensive tactics, and he'd been watching her for some time, now. Before he spoke, she was lost in thought, trying to figure a way out for them to protect the small village, while keeping the two of them and their other four team members alive. No matter how long she thought on it, he knew it wouldn't change anything. He'd run through all the possible scenarios. The situation was dire with the chance of surviving practically nil. The reinforcements were still at least a day away, and they couldn't get any help from the villagers. They were vastly outnumbered and already surrounded.
Temari just stared, until, finally, she spoke. "Why?"
"You can slip out in the dark, and through the enemies surrounding us. You can make it."
"Do you think I'm a coward?"
He flinched. "No."
"But you think I would run." It was a statement, not a question. He didn't think she would, he just hoped.
"Staying won't change the outcome. You're strong and you can take down a lot of them, but it won't be enough."
"Don't underestimate me."
"Then, as the captain of this mission, I'm ordering you to leave, tonight."
"I'm not going to leave, just cause you're pulling rank. I'm not going anywhere, unless you can give me a good reason to."
He thought about lying and saying there was, but he knew it was pointless. Temari would know. Hell, he could tell she already did. She was just that troublesome.
He moved to stand in front of her, staring into her eyes. "Just leave. Why are you being so difficult? I'm asking you to."
Her eyes blazed. "No."
Shikamaru was standing close to her, and without thinking he moved his hand to the back of her neck, as he leaned in and kissed her. He didn't rush it, he had wanted to do it for some time. He felt her surprise, but soon enough she was kissing him back. It didn't start out fevered and lustful, but that didn't take long to change, as Temari's hands wrapped in his hair. Their kisses deepened and bodies pressed closer together, tingling with heat.
Eventually they pulled apart, and rested their foreheads against one another. Both were flushed and a bit surprised at what had transpired. A quiet beat passed, but then Shikamaru seized the moment. His hands lowered to rest around her waist and his voice quiet. "Leave… please."
Her eyes widened briefly, "You think it's that easy?" She broke away from his light embrace, shaking her head with a smirk, and walked to the door. She only stopped once her hand was on the knob. Her strong and slightly cocky voice ringing through the air, "No… if I did, who would save you?" Opening and exiting, she added "I'll see you in the morning." as the door swung shut behind her.
Sometimes he would watch Temari on a training field, when she would visit Konoha as an ambassador. She would go there to blow off steam and keep in shape. She'd often try to get him to come and spar. He would only join if there were others, and if he could also be on her team. He knew it annoyed her, which amused him. He was a genius, but he wasn't going to face her unless he had to. She could be scary.
But still, when it was just her, sometimes he'd come and watch. She would taunt him and call him lazy or other insulting names, trying to goad him into sparring. He would ignore her words, but just watch her move. The wind could be gentle and beautiful. A breeze that rustled the leaves of the trees. Or the wind could be terrifying and cruel. Ripping or cutting branches and sending them flying. He learned to pay attention, and dodge out of the way as needed, otherwise he would be treated the same as a branch.
He liked watching and learning her movements, especially seeing her body brace for a particularly destructive jitsu. He knew she wouldn't display all her jutsu, especially in a place other than a training ground in Suna. And that was alright. It wasn't the jutsu that mattered, but the movement she shared.
Sometimes he would think about how interesting the wind was. After all, it only existed when moving, otherwise it would just be air. Sometimes, he caught himself at the training ground to watch more than her train.
She always liked to keep busy, focusing and doing something productive. While growing up, she learned that idle time lent itself to thinking of things she'd rather not. Things she couldn't change. Stressful or sad things that she would feel tighten in her chest. They would sit there, waiting for more terrible things to happen. She just assumed it was like that for everyone.
That's why she was confused to see him lying and watching clouds, and she found herself watching him. Trying to figure out how he could do it and why he would want to. He looked so relaxed and content… not to mention, unguarded, in public space. It made no sense.
After watching him for several days, and not coming up with a good answer, she couldn't help but march up to him and ask what he was doing and why. He chuckled, and asked her what she thought the answer was. His amusement frustrated her, and she wouldn't have asked had she known she'd just get a crappy answer of question thrown back to her. She snapped out a response, something about watching clouds because he was lazy, before storming off.
Still the next day she returned. She couldn't help it. She liked watching how he lounged on the grass, looking so comfortable and at peace. Sometimes he looked like he would even be asleep.
"Tsch, I know you're watching me." he said loud enough for her to hear.
"Just trying to understand how you can be such a lazy ass." She was blushing. Of course he knows I'm here and he must know I've been watching him all this time. He may be lazy, but he's still a shinobi.
"Geesh, why are things never easy with you woman? Come over here."
She paused and then reluctantly wandered over.
He patted the ground. "Sit down."
She glared at him.
"I'll answer your questions, and tell you what I'm doing and why."
She sat, but looked no happier.
"Yes, I'm watching the clouds. Why? The wind is always moving them and changing them. That's why I like watching them. They can look like one thing, only to have them to morph into something else, completely."
She looked up and focused on the clouds. She hadn't really looked much at clouds beyond observing or trying to predict the weather before. As she stared at them, they didn't morph into anything. They still just looked like clouds.
She glanced over at him, trying to determine if this was a joke, and he realized just how foreign this was to her. He sat up on his elbows, leaned closer and pointed, "Like up there, that one kinda looks like a dog. His snout on the right…"
She stared at the sky, then she saw what he was talking about. "Oh, I see it!" before she quickly recovered her composure. "Um, yes. I see it now."
He just half smiled and laid back again.
Now she understood, and he was right. They were interesting, thought she wouldn't say it aloud. Soon, she laid back next to him. The way they changed and moved, while they stayed stationary was fascinating. She found herself enjoying it and feeling very relaxed. He had shared his stillness with her.
After a while of watching, she couldn't help but comment, "But sometimes you sleep, too."
"Yeah. I'm still lazy."
She laughed. Maybe there was something good to being lazy.
After that, she sometimes found herself joining him to watch the clouds. Sometimes, she'd point out the different things she saw in the clouds, and sometimes he'd do the same. Sometimes, she still found herself watching him laying next to her, out of the corner of her eye.
A chasm appeared, as the earth split apart, separating Shikamaru from the rest of the team. They have an earth style user. What a drag. He was sure the enemy purposely separated him from the group, so they could pick him off.
He prepared to hold his own, and hoped the others would be able to do the same against the other groups. He would occupy as many enemy forces for as long as he could, though his jutsu was more for stalling and not for close combat or defense. Not to mention was vastly outnumbered. Hell, they were outnumbered from the start, anyway.
What he didn't expect was Temari. Gliding on her fan, over the gaping break of earth that separated them, before dismounting next to him. But there she stood.
They locked eyes, and she shouted, "Just like I said last night." Followed by that crazy grin of hers.
"Yeah, yeah." He couldn't help but smirk, and be glad to have that troublesome woman at his side.
With that, nothing more needed to be said, and, together, they continued the fight.
Panting, they caught eyes. Exhaustion was creeping in. How many more could there possibly be? She'd already summoned Kamatari to cut down a number of them, but there were still more. She was almost out of chakra, which meant that Shikamaru had to be, as well.
A quick nod of their heads, and she and Shikamaru moved back to back. She had no regrets about staying. No regrets about coming back to him. She had to focus on keeping moving. No matter how tired she was, she had to endure. She would fight the world if that's what it took.
That's when she heard the thuds and his moaning gasp. Felt him stumble backward and bump into her. She turned her head and their eyes caught as he collapsed. Multiple kunia piercing his body and the blood beginning its flow. Yet, there was a slight smile on his face as he hit the ground.
No. This isn't the way it's supposed to be. She wasn't thinking clearly, she couldn't think. Her emotions were all consuming, and she couldn't process them. So, she surrendered to them. She just let them take over. She was performing the hand seals for her most powerful jutsu. She didn't have the chakra for it, but the movements were automatic. I will make them pay. I will kill them all. There was an unearthly scream erupting from her, while her body completed a full turn, as she swung her fan. The wind ripping down more in its wake than even Kamatari could, all around them.
She had a split second of pride, viewing of the damage she had inflicted and seeing nothing but enemy bodies, before she couldn't breath and an intense ringing filled her ears. She stumbled. She grabbed her head, as it felt like her brain exploded. Blackness closed in on her vision. She had pushed too far beyond her chakra. She fell to her knees and then to the ground, right near Shikamaru. She briefly saw his face, as her body hit the ground and right before the world turned back. Still, she regretted nothing. She smiled, then she was pulled into nothingness.
Authors Note: IF you're into sad endings, feel free to stop reading here. I almost made this the ending (been feeling some angst lately, so maybe that shows)... but I just couldn't do it. So, if sad endings aren't your thing (which they aren't for me), you can look forward to reading the next chapter.
This story was inspired by the whole Nine Inch Nails song "We're In This Together", and not just the lines from the beginning. I think the lyrics and the feel of this song really fit the story for me, and I love Nine Inch Nails... just like I love ShikaTema.