This is a change of pace from my usual, more humorous, fanfics. I think it's written better than my other ones, though. I hope you enjoy it with all its Shikatema goodness! I promise next chapter will have more Shikamaru, this chapter was more explanatory. Please review when you reach the end, I need feedback on my writing when I'm actually trying. Disclaimer: I have not, do not, and will not own Naruto.

Usually it would be shameful for a shinobi to be even the slightest bit afraid of lightening or thunder, but this was a special case. The lightening crashed around the group of three, shivering, shinobi, occasionally missing one by a few feet. Rain pounded down on them from above, drenching them to the bone. Two of the three had accepted that they were either going to fall over from exhaustion, else get fried by lightening, however, the leader was still going strong. Temari had proven, on more occasions than one cared to count, that she had a will of steel. Her will was the only thing that currently kept the three alive, although her physical appearance and well-being at the moment was all too similar to her comrades.

She looked around in her final attempt to form a strategy and assess her surroundings. She watched the two shinobi with her, shivering and huddled in an attempt to stay as dry as they could, with pity in her eyes. If they could not even depend on themselves for such a small favor as keeping warm on their own, then how would the other two ever survive the night, or that supernatural lightening? Temari blamed herself for the current state of her team. There had originally been seven of them, including Temari, but unfortunately the current circumstance called for survival of the fittest. She would just have to worry about the losses later.

To make things even worse, the sand shinobi were driven into unfamiliar territory at the start of the battle and forced to flee until they no longer knew of their own whereabouts. And it didn't help that there were at least 3 attackers still out in the darkness, waiting for the Suna ninja to reveal their location, all of which were at least A-ranked criminals.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash as a tree went tumbling down, almost crushing the male shinobi furthest to the side. The three shinobi tensed up as the tree fell, the group fully on guard, waiting for the coming attack, but none came. As they were about to let their guard down, an onslaught of weapons came from the opposite side of the clearing, catching all of them off guard. They were immediately rushed by the three unknown attackers that had driven them here in the first place.

Temari watched in horror through the thick sheets of rain as one of the shinobi, the one that had almost been smashed by the tree, went down in a puddle of blood, complete with kunai. As if in a cruel response, her other companion, a brown haired female, was painfully jolted with an opponent's jutsu, falling to the ground with a final, fatal sounding, thump. And now it was her turn. All of the enemies, missing nin or just an opposing village, she did not know, had their eyes trained on her, bloodlust evident. As far as she was concerned they could have her, as long as she got to take at least one down with her.

Taking her, surprisingly, still intact fan off her back, Temari prepared to defy the enemy one last time. The price of this defiance, she was fully aware of, would be her life. Crouching, she prepare for the final lunge that would, in her mind, end her life. The only things she would regret, she determined, was being useless to her team and not being able to say a goodbye to her brothers.

Leaping forward with all her might, she was rather surprised when she encountered a resistance. Not only that, but the enemy nin had shocked looks on their faces as they turned around and started whispering amongst themselves. 'Oh yeah' she remembered, 'there's something stopping me from moving forward…' looking behind her, she found the source. To tell the truth, she had not expected this. A ninja, maybe a few years younger than herself, had a grip on the collar of her outfit. She supposed this was to keep her from lunging at the enemy. On closer inspection, she found the Konoha emblem etched into the headband he had placed on his arm. 'He looks familiar…' with a small gasp she identified the shinobi. It was Shikamaru. She hadn't expected to see him again for quite some time, considering they had worked on the Chuunin exams together only six months before.

Looking behind Shikamaru, she found a few more familiar faces. Among these were Sakura, Kiba, Neji, and what looked like about four additional Jounin. 'They all look fresh and ready for battle'. This thought made her much more self-conscious as she took in her own appearance and physical condition. Soaked to the bone with torn, bloody, clothing wasn't exactly intimidating. In fact, she looked like she was about to fall over any second, and indeed, she felt like it too. This assessment of herself also made Temari aware of just how wary and broken down she was at the moment. 'Best let those who have the energy handle it from here'. Well, that's what Temari told herself. She actually wanted to finish them off personally to make sure they were as dead as anyone could possibly get.

Thankfully she didn't get the chance to struggle as she drifted into unconsciousness, the sound of intense battle in the background. All Temari was aware of before she drifted off, was of being gathered in somebody's arms and carried off to a much warmer, hopefully safer place.

Waking up was rather more difficult for Temari than it normally was. And it was no wonder, she had a multitude of new bruises in a splendid array of colors, souvenirs from the fight the night before. Bones stiff, at least the ones that weren't broken, she tried to sit up in the bed she was in. Looking around she found that she was in a hospital, Konoha's if the signs were anything to go by. Trying to get out of the bed to explore the sterile hospital, Temari discovered that she couldn't muster enough strength in her legs to do so. 'Boy do I feel like crap…' She was just about to fling herself out of bed, legs or no, when the door started to open to the hospital room.

Sakura poked her head around the corner of the door and into the room to check on the current inhabitant. "Oh Temari, I'm glad you're awake. I was coming to inform you that Tsunade will be in to finish up healing shortly." Sakura then darted out of the room leaving a confused and somewhat furious Temari behind. There was no way in hell that Sakura was going to stay in that room for an interrogation from the Suna girl. Temari would want to know what happened the night of the battle, but Sakura was almost on break. Telling about the past events would cut into that time dearly. Sure it was a selfish thing to do, but in Sakura's opinion it was also a smart thing to do.

Temari just sat on the bed blinking at the sun coming in through the windows. 'Can hospitals these days not afford blinds or what?' She was somewhat grumpy after the sudden appearance, and equally as sudden, disappearance of Sakura. She desperately had to know about what had happened at the battle.

Luckily enough, before Temari got so frustrated as to start throwing things, Tsunade arrived in the room. Under usual circumstances Temari would have been honored to meet the Hokage, but at the moment she was in no such mood. "What the heck happened and why haven't I been informed of it yet?" She demanded in a powerful, and slightly intimidating, voice.

Tsunade raised a questioning eyebrow at her tone but did not comment on it, instead she found it easier to address Temari's question. "Neji of the Hyuuga clan found you and your team, with his bloodline, close enough to the village to be considered a threat. He called for a backup group but, when they got to the clearing, found that you were not the most threatening ones there. Then again, you were the only one there when they arrived."

Temari was itching to know the rest but was afraid that she would have to ask the specific questions on her own before Tsunade would tell her. "So, did Konoha win?"

Tsunade frowned slightly before replying. "Yes, but most of our ninja participating in the fight sustained minor to major injuries. It was through pure determination and a good team combination that they won in the end. I would like to know why you and your shinobi were only a few miles from Konoha fighting Orochimaru's bastards in the first place."

Temari decided it would only be fair to clue Tsunade in. After all, Temari was being informed on the happenings of the Konoha ninja. "Well, we were on patrol around the perimeters of Suna when two of them spotted the missing nin. Naturally the only way to protect Suna was to combat them, but our ninja were driven back until we no longer knew where we were. We fought them for days on end, exhausted and ready to give up. They used their lightening and other tricks to isolate members of our group and kill them off, one by one. The seven of us-"

Temari was interrupted by Tsunade's sudden outburst. "The seven of you! They killed off all the rest of your team?!"

"Yes. The rest of my team was fairly weak compared to your ninja. I thought I could protect them on my own, but it turns out I was wrong." Temari was one who greatly valued her pride, but she was so ashamed at the moment that she had to hang her head in order to keep the ordeal from overwhelming her. Then a question started nagging at her. "Why didn't the missing nin attack me before Shikamaru got me out of the way?"

"Our shinobi couldn't just rush into the battle immediately. They got there right after your remaining two companions fell and waited for a perfect ambush time. Sakura covered you with her genjutsu so that you would be indistinguishable from the foliage when she got there. You were lucky to be alive."

'Maybe Sakura isn't that bad then, despite her rude behavior…' Temari yawned. She hated being overly tired, it made her feel so vulnerable to the world.

Tsunade smiled slightly. "You should get some rest, we'll talk about formal arrangements tomorrow when you, hopefully, feel a bit better. I'll heal you then, no use making you anymore tired, ne?"

Temari nodded and began to drift off to sleep after Tsunade left. 'Maybe tomorrow will be a brighter day…'