Finally, I'm back.

It has taken a long time for me to get writing again, and then yesterday I had this idea, and I just had to write it! And this, my friends, is the result! I really hope you enjoy it because I am rather proud of myself. Oh I have a few notes. Temari and Shikamaru are both jounins, and Shikamaru is 18, Temari is 20. (Their age difference is actually 2-3 years :O). Oh and the inspirtation, yes. :)

This story was inspired by the numerous amazing works by lovesrainscent. She is amazing, and I love her work. This story is somewhat dedicated to her. It is my first shot at Jiraiya/Tsunade. And I added it in for her and my friend. :)

Oh and yes, you can't see him yet, but the prince is inspired by IbikiTeishi's prisoner in his/her fantastic story Mind Splinters. :) Prince is quite like him, you'll see.

Now without further a do. Please Enjoy! :D


Royal Delivery

Chapter One - How Bad Could He Be?



"Hokage-sama!" Shizune pleaded whilst trying to dodge a flying chair, "please do not throw things!" Tsunade ignored her and flung the table so that it went clean through the wall. Shizune managed to scamper out of the room, Tonton in hand, before she was impaled with a desk.

"Oh dear," remarked a passing Jiraiya, noticing Tsunade's apprentice sitting in a foetal position with her arms braced over her head and a pig curled up behind her. Shizune looked up towards the legendary sannin.

"Jiraiya-sama! Oh thank goodness! Please, you have to calm Tsunade-sama down; you are the only one who can do it effectively…when you want to." Shizune held onto Tonton who was still hiding from danger.

"I see," Jiraiya chuckled, "so, how much sake has Tsunade-hime had today?"

"Only one cup," replied Shizune, dusting off her yukata.

"Wow, that's pretty unusual."

Jiraiya and Shizune popped their heads through the big destructive hole the table had made.

"Jeez, Tsunade, you've made quite a mess," he commented cheerfully. Shizune grimaced.

"FUCK YOU, Jiraiya!" Tsunade shouted and hurled another chair, this one aimed at his head, with her superhuman strength. Both Shizune and Jiraiya ducked behind the wall, knowing full well from experience how good Tsunade's aim was.

And, like always, her aim was still top notch as the chair burst through the hole, breaking off at least two feet of wall where Jiraiya's head had been, and lodged itself into the corridor wall. Tonton climbed into Shizune's shirt in fright. Jiraiya calmly walked into the room from the hole. Shizune could hear things being thrown at Jiraiya (and see barrages of flying objects smash into the wall in front of her).

When the barrage of things had stopped, Shizune took her chances and peered into the room.

Jiraiya had managed to grab hold of Tsunade's fist in an effort to keep her from rearranging his face and hurling objects at over a hundred miles an hour. Tonton carefully stuck her snout out of the dip in Shizune's yukata to see if the storm had subsided. Tsunade was pink tinged with anger and growled, realizing Jiraiya wasn't going to let go.

"Tell me what happened," Jiraiya sighed quietly.

"Somehow we've managed," Tsunade pulled her arm away vigorously. "to get royalty locked up in our ANBU prison."

"Royalty? From where?"

"A small far off country that doesn't use the kage system – the Land of Geysers, I think it was," Shizune spoke up. She pulled Tonton out of her yukata and held the pig in her usual manner seeing as Tonton had calmed down.

"Land of Geysers? I thought that their king would never leave his country."

"He won't, but it's not him. It's the prince." Tsunade rubbed her temples.

"I didn't even know they even had a prince," Jiraiya commented.

"Yeah, well as it happens, neither did we," Tsunade growled. Jiraiya pulled two pieces of furniture out of the wall behind him and offered one to Tsunade so she could sit down.

"What are they demanding?" He asked seriously.

"They want the prince back right away or else they'll declare war or worse-" Tsunade looked terrified. "-sue the country!"

"How is that worse?" Jiraiya asked no one in particular.

"Price of sake will go up," Shizune replied deadpan.

"Ah," Jiraiya commented knowingly. He had been with Tsunade long enough to know that:

Tsunade + Sake = Good.

Tsunade + No Sake = Death.

"So, Tsunade-hime, what is your plan of action?"

Tsunade closed her eyes and thought for a minute, trying to nurse her headache that was forming quickly. It took another minute of silence and Tonton tapping her leg before she came up with a solution.

"Get me Shikamaru and Temari."

x. .X. .x

"Why does the Godaime want to see us?" Shikamaru asked Shizune. He and Temari were walking side by side in the corridor with Shizune to the Hokage's office.

Temari opted for silence. She quietly listened to the sounds of the footsteps from Shizune and the young man next to her.

"Tsunade-sama called for you, I don't know her reasoning," Shizune replied.

"How troublesome, that doesn't explain anything," Shikamaru commented in his usual lazy drawl. Temari gave off a little smirk. He always amused her, him knowing about it or not.

Shizune chanced a glance at the pair. It was unusual how Temari was so quiet when dealing with business, she was always like that, until Shikamaru was placed with her, as her guide that is. She almost opened up… in a way.

Shizune heard their footsteps stop and turned around to find that both Shikamaru and Temari were staring at the massive hole in the wall. Shikamaru scowled and muttered something under his breath.

"For once I agree with you," Temari stated calmly. She walked in between the scattered debris and chunks of furniture and wall. Shikamaru sighed and leant back. He turned his head to Shizune.

"Having a bad day?"

"More than you know…" Shizune replied.

"Fantastic."

Shikamaru lazily followed Temari into the Hokage's office, hearing Shizune run off down the hall, probably trying to find someone to fix this new impromptu doorway.

As soon as he was on the other side he was greeted by Tsunade.

"Good, you two are finally here." Tsunade stood up from her desk to address them. Judging by its damaged state Shikamaru guessed that it had been a wall ornament not too long ago. "We don't have time to chit chat," Tsunade barked. Temari noted the other legendary sannin who was outside sitting on the roof.

"This morning, I was informed that Prince Kurono, current royalty of the Land of Geysers, was being held in our ANBU prison."

"ANBU prison? How did he end up in there?" Shikamaru asked, slightly horrified.

"Shikamaru's right, that is quite a screw up," Temari added.

"I don't even know. I haven't had time to find out the identity of the jackass who is responsible for getting Konoha into this mess!" Tsunade shouted.

"It's probably Naruto," Shikamaru stated lazily. Temari gave him a quick glance then looked back to Tsunade.

"Well… that is highly possible…" Tsunade thought out loud.

"And he is an idiot," Temari replied with a grin she couldn't suppress. Shikamaru couldn't help but glance at Temari and give a grin of his own.

"She has a point."

"Yes… but anyway, that's not why I called you both here." Temari, and even Shikamaru, straightened up their postures. "I'm giving you two an A ranked mission to escort the prince to the Land of Geysers. You have approximately three days before the Geyser Country takes action, so you must be swift. Do you understand?" Tsunade asked sternly.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama," They answered in unison.

"But… I do have two questions… about the mission."

"Yes, what is it Shikamaru?"

"Firstly, why were we chosen? Secondly why do Temari and I have to do the mission together?" Tsunade sighed. "Not that I mind working with her!" Shikamaru added quickly when Temari raised an eyebrow at him.

"Jeez, Nara, you ask too many questions," Tsunade rubbed her temples. "Firstly, this mission requires at least two jounins, considering you are escorting the prince and that no harm what-so-ever can come to him. But currently, we are a little short on high ranking ninja. We only have a few pairs active and waiting for orders. And since Hyuuga Hinata is still chuunin, she and Inuzuka Kiba could not go. Naruto is adamant about training, as is Sakura, and… well, you get the point."

"That still doesn't answer my second question." Tsunade glared at Shikamaru. Temari sighed indifferently.

"You two are going because you work great as a team. You have a high standard of intelligence in battle, which is necessary if high ranking thieves or rogue nins want to capture the prince… and well… you just have great chemistry together."

"Huh? Wha-" Shikamaru began.

"Enough!" Tsunade barked. Shikamaru grumbled in protest. Temari nudged him.

"Is that all, Tsunade-sama?" Temari asked.

"Yes, please leave right away." Tsunade sat up from the corner of her desk. Some time when she was talking she had sat down on it. "And Shizune?"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama?"

"Find out who the jackass is that got the prince locked up in the first place!"

"H-hai!" Shizune quickly scuttled out of the room. Tsunade turned to address the pair.

"You two are dismissed," Tsunade said. She bent over and picked up Tonton, placed the pig on her lap and began stroking her ears in an effort to calm down herself.

The two jounins nodded and headed out the hole in the wall. Temari roughly stepped over the debris and laughed to herself as she and Shikamaru entered the corridor.

"What?" Shikamaru asked, intrigued by her musical laugh. He placed his hands in his pockets.

"Nothing really… it just," she directed her gaze to the hole in the wall. "Looks like something I would do," she remarked simply.

"And I prey to Kami that you don't."

"Aww," Temari grinned devilishly. "You're no fun at all."

"Hmph." Shikamaru somewhat contained a smile.

Both Shikamaru and Temari exited into the bright daylight of Konoha together.

x. .X. .x

After they had collected their equipment for their mission, both of them decided that having lunch before they left would be a nice luxury… for a change. They both agreed on a small restaurant a few blocks away from the entrance, so they could leave as soon as they were done. (And it had totally nothing to do with the fact that the place was hidden from view of the Hokage Tower… totally.)

Temari flipped through the menu. She ran her eyes through all the different dishes.

Shikamaru held his chin in his hand and looked at her teal eyes moving from left to right. She always fascinated him, almost everything about her. He noted that she was making a tough decision because of the small frown he saw in her eyes. He was always so intrigued by her eyes, how they changed colour when she felt a different emotion.

"Tough choice?" He asked with cheerful interest.

"Yeah, but I've decided," She responded, placing her menu down. She clicked her fingers at the waitress.

The waitress stalked over to them, not appreciating being called like a dog. Temari ordered their meals and shooed her off.

"I don't think she appreciated that," Shikamaru remarked.

"To be honest, I really don't care very much," Temari replied, making a passé gesture with her hand. She took a long sip through her straw.

"Figured as much," Shikamaru gave a grin, and took a long sip from his drink as well.

"So, what kind of person do you think this prince is going to be?" Temari asked nonchalantly. She stirred her drink with her straw, listening to the sound the ice made.

"Well, he is probably going to be a bit "high and mighty". Definitely see us as lowly servants. A bit of an idiot I assume." Shikamaru silently thanked the waitress who delivered their food.

"Yeah, I thought the same. Hopefully he isn't one of those princes who think they can buy everything…" Temari picked up a piece of bread and dipped it in her vegetable soup.

"What do you mean exactly?" Shikamaru asked. He followed suit, picking up his spoon in place of bread.

"I mean, I hope he doesn't try and buy me," Temari remarked with a smirk. She popped the piece of bread into her mouth. Shikamaru let out an amused laugh. "No, I'm serious." Temari couldn't help but begin laughing too-his laugh was infectious. "I have dealt with a prince that tried to buy me…buy me," She repeated with a grin. Shikamaru was still laughing to himself.

"That's pretty funny. But at least I can understand why. Let's just say they don't make women stick figures in Suna," Shikamaru commented happily, giving her body a quick once over.

"Damn right," Temari smiled at him. (Shikamaru noted her eyes were sparkling.)

Shikamaru felt another presence near him and turned his head to see Naruto, poised in a perfect mid-running position: one foot above the ground, one planted on the ground, his mouth hanging slightly. Come to think about it, Shikamaru remembered some loud running which stopped when he replied to Temari.

Temari seeing Shikamaru being distracted by something else turned to see what he was looking at. She stared at Naruto with a raised eyebrow, noting his unusual stop of all movement… in the middle of the road.

"Can we help you, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked throwing an arm over the back of his chair. Naruto just stared between Temari and Shikamaru a few times, and replayed what Shikamaru had said through his mind a few times. And then, he glared at them.

"Not dating my ass."

"NARUTO, GET BACK HERE!" At the sound of his name being shouted Naruto suddenly jumped back to life and darted down the road and around the corner. Away from what appeared to be several ANBU officers.

"I didn't mean to, 'ttebayo!!" Naruto wailed in the distance.

"COME BACK, NARUTO, HOKAGE-SAMA WANTS TO SEE YOU!"

Temari looked at Shikamaru, with her mouth still filled with soup, and he looked at her. Temari couldn't contain the upcoming laughter. She almost chocked on her mouthful of soup.

Shikamaru and Temari burst out laughing. Temari had to press a napkin to her mouth and swallow before she could openly laugh.

"Well, then, I guess, Naruto was the one who got the prince locked up in the prison!" Shikamaru said through laughs.

"How did we know?" Temari answered on the verge of tears. After their laughter had subsided and they had finished their meals, Shikamaru paid (They argued a bit about who would pay, but Shikamaru insisted that he, being the man, should pay) and they left the restaurant still giggling a bit about Naruto's idiocy.

"So, we might as well fetch the prince. How bad could he be?" Temari said cheerfully.

x. .X. .x

Tsunade sat on the roof next to Jiraiya. That in itself was a rare occasion. She let out a frustrated sigh.

"Waiting on the ANBU?"

"Hai, they're fetching Naruto as we speak." Tsunade rubbed her eyes; her headache had gotten much worse. Jiraiya handed her a cup of sake.

"Here."

"Thanks." Tsunade took the cup and downed it in one gulp, feeling the alcohol burn down her throat.

"Dy'think it was wise, sending those two out together?" Jiraiya asked after a moment of silence.

"What do you mean; they are excellent strategists, the two of them."

"That's not what I meant. The chemistry is there. Do you think it was a good idea placing them together…? I mean, look what happened to us." Jiraiya said seriously.

"I get what you mean. But…" Tsunade put her head on Jiraiya's shoulder in a moment of weakness. "Would that really be so bad?"

x. .X. .x

"I'm going to report you to my father, for manhandling royalty!"

"Oh great."

"You just had to say it, didn't you?"


And that my friends, is the first chapter. :)

I am busy working on Chapter two, and my friends are giving my compliments about it, so I'm guessing it's not that bad. =D woot!

(subliminal messages, anyone?)

p.s. thank you to Randomonium for the ipeccable editing and grammar corrections! I know you shout at me cause you luff me. :p