Chapter 1: Conflicting Feelings
Shikamaru stuck his balled up fists in his pockets, sweat trickling down his neck. His face was still blank as always. He had to keep his feelings hidden from the public for now. Their relationship depended on it. Whether they were just friends or not, he didn't want to risk screwing everything up and Temari becoming angry at him once more. The young ninja had already made stupid mistakes in the past. Even though they were small, like not holding open a door her, she would always make a big deal about it. Shikamaru frowned at the thought, forgetting for a moment about his feelings toward the blonde-haired girl. Who knew that these sort of things could become so complicated? Sasuke made it look so easy to impress all the girls around him, even though he didn't give a damn about them in the first place. He could have had some feelings for Sakura, but they obviously weren't enough to keep him from going to Orochimaru.
All of these depressing thoughts were starting to take a toll on Shikamaru. His eyes were now narrowed and his lips curved into a frown. The young ninja just stood in the middle of the street, people passing by him without a second glance. No one dared to bother the boy with the green vest. For all they knew, he could have been figuring out what to do in a mission. Shikamaru glanced around at his surroundings once more before sighing and continuing onwards. His face was now back to being blank of any emotion. Just as the ninja passed the ramen stall, a blonde-haired boy wearing bright orange clothing came bounding up to him, a bowl of ramen clutched in his hands.
"Hey, Shikamaru!" Naruto yelled with a grin plastered across his face, "What have you been up to?" he asked, slipping some more ramen into his already full mouth. Shikamaru sighed,
"Nothing, Naruto. Absolutely nothing."
"Wow. You sure do have a boring life, huh?"
"Shut up." Shikamaru seemed to growl. He had no clue how confusing his life was at the moment. "Well, what have you been up to then?" he quickly added, trying to turn the conversation around to involve Naruto's life instead of his own. Shikamaru could tell that he was going to slip his secret soon. It was only a matter of time.
Naruto swallowed what was left of the ramen in his mouth, a grin still on his face as he talked, "Sakura and I are planning on going out training with Kakashi. Just like old times." he then looked back over his shoulder at the ramen stall just as his stomach rumbled. Shikamaru couldn't help but smirk,
"Still hungry, huh? You must have two stomachs to be able to eat all that ramen."
"What? Of course not!"
"Well, just watch out. Becoming fat by eating all that food won't help you with your training all that much."
Naruto frowned and looked down at the bowl still clutched in his hands, "Yeah... I guess you're right. Well, I gotta get going. See you later, Shikamaru!" he yelled over his shoulder as he walked on back over to the ramen stall. Shikamaru just nodded and continued on walking down the street, soon getting lost in his thoughts once more. Pretty soon he was at his destination. He stood in front of a wooden door, leading into a rather polished-looking house. Shikamaru stood there, frozen, wondering what to do now. The person he had been keeping his eyes on was probably just a few feet away. The thought caused him to sweat even more. He took a deep breath and knocked three times on the door. Here goes nothing.
The young ninja heard soft footsteps on the otherside of the wooden door, some clicks, and the door squeaking open. There stood Temari, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"What do you want?" she snapped. Shikamaru looked into her eyes calmly, his heart racing.
"We need to talk." he said simply, still feeling cautious around her. Temari's eyes widened, to Shikamaru's surprise.
"Well.. I don't know.. I have to leave pretty early tomorrow to go back to my village, and I need time to pack...-"
"What a drag..." he grumbled under his breath.
"Huh?"
"Nothing.. nothing... but can we please talk? Its important." Shikamaru insisted, staring into her eyes once more. He saw her hesitate, but nod. Temari stepped back to let him inside. Shikamaru nodded and walked in. He caught a quick glance at her, seeing a hint of pink in her cheeks. Was she nervous as well? Maybe because of the same reasons as his own? Shikamaru just shook off the thought and let her close the door behind them before walking down the hallway some more to a pretty bare room with a table in the center, a bag on its surface along with Temari's signature fan.
The blonde-haired girl stopped near the table and turned around to face him, crossing her arms across her chest.
"Well? What would you like to talk about?" she asked, her eyes narrowing at him once more. Shikamaru stood silent for a second, distracted by the way her eyes glistened in the room's light. Temari coughed, starting to get impatient, also taking him out of his little trance. Shikamaru licked his lips before muttering,
"I would like to talk about... us."
"Us...?" "Yes. As in where we stand in our relationship." Shikamaru said, a little more confident this time, to his own surprise. Temari's eyes widened in surprise as the pink in her cheeks returned, this time even more visible.
"W-well," she stuttered, lost for words, "I guess I consider us friends..."
"Are you sure about that?" Shikamaru murmured, suddenly approaching her until he was just inches away. Temari took a step backwards, bumping into the table. Shikamaru took another step forwards, staring into her eyes, seeming to have some sort of hold on her. He couldn't help but feel some satisfaction at seeing her like this... so unlike how she usually was. He knew not a lot of people could have an affect on her like that. Temari was now blushing fiercely, not looking away from his face. Shikamaru gently brushed his thumb along her jawline, causing her to shiver. He smiled slightly before murmuring softly, placing his other hand on her arm,
"Well...?"
Temari broke their gaze and layed a hand on his chest, trying to push him away,
"Get out of my house!" she seemed to growl. Shikamaru sighed,
"Still as stubborn as always, it seems." "I said get out!"
"Not until you answer my question. Truthfully." Shikamaru murmured, refusing to budge.
Temari let her arm fall to her side and sighed, looking down at the floor. He gently lifted her chin with his fingers until she was staring at his face.
"Please?" he whispered, suddenly realizing how much she had changed him, what affect she had on him. This all seemed too unreal. Temari sighed,
"Well... I..."
Bwahahahahaha cliff-hanger! :D
I hope you all enjoyed it so far! ^^ Any form of critique is gladly welcomed! I'm still pretty new to Naruto and, thanks to KagamineRin9001, I've been able to understand some basic info about the anime. Any tips would be really helpful! :)