"WHAT!" all three shouted with discontent.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem with the mission I am assigning you? Tsunade asked dangerously.
"Of course not! We were…just…uh…"Ino began to say, slightly scratching her head.
"Surprised! When do we start?" Chouji yelled, covering for all three of them.
"As soon as you can," Tsunade began "but first all three of you must go home and get ready. Suna will be your home for quite some time, and you may return when the Kazekage-sama is surrounded by more sand ANBU and jounin."
"Understood." Ino said, speaking the thoughts of the group.
"Good, you are dismissed."
And with that, all three of them disappeared leaving a puff of smoke behind.
"I can't believe we have to share a mission with those two freaks!" Ino yelled angrily as they were all carrying their things for the upcoming 'nightmare'.
"Yeah, well, it's not like we chose this ourselves." Chouji added.
"Hey Shikamaru-kun, you haven't said anything since the assignment was, well, assigned." Ino said letting her anger calm down for a moment.
"Huh, uh…well, there's really nothing to say." Shikamaru lied.
The truth was there was a lot to be said. He did not approve of this mission! He did not plan on spending any let alone most of his time with Temari. He did not want to leave Konoha and live in a place where a bunch of sand got in your eyes every five seconds. He did not! He did not! He did not! Of all the troublesome things, this probably was the worst. Sure, I guess he could handle being a body guard for some time, but in a different village? With Temari? He didn't like her because she was a spunky girl, and he hated spunky girls. She thought just like him and was rude (not that he really cared). She was just like his mother, being bossy and all. Not to mentioned she saved his life. He could never quite get over it but eventually learned to accept it. Accept it because he never really had to face her again. Temari was the only female, either than Ino, whom he had meet that was so mean, annoying, and a smart-mouth. She simply was troublesome.
"HELLO! Anyone home?" said Ino, her temper rising again.
"Huh, what?" Shikamaru answered, slowly returning to a place he called Earth.
"I asked if you wanted any potato chips," Ino repeated, shaking an empty bag of chips up and down. "but it seems Chouji-kun ate them all."
"Uh, sorry Ino-chan, Shikamaru-kun," Chouji honestly said. "I was just really hungry."
"But you just ate before we left!"
"Don't worry about me, Chouji-kun," said Shikamaru, walking between both of his best friends. "I'm really not that hungry."
"Thanks Shikamaru-kun," Chouji said. "see Ino-chan, you should be less selfish like him."
"WHAT! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO ATE THEM ALL BY YOURSELF!" Ino screamed. "YOU DIDN'T EVEN LEAVE ANY FOR US, CONSIDERING THEY WERE MINE!"
"Mine, mine, mine…see, you are selfish!"
"AHHHH!"
Yup, these two were his best friends. Even though they argued every moment they could, Shikamaru knew it was never serious. They fought for the stupidest things, but in the end…they were all the best of friends. And Shikamaru would never trade that up for anything.
Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji all reported to Lady Tsunade about their departure and she wished them the best of luck. After a few days of traveling, eating, sleeping, and arguing they had reached the location of their mission.
All three shinobi were standing in front of the entrance towards the village of Suna. The buildings seemed to be made of sand; in fact, it looked like everything was made of sand. Shikamaru began walking inside but was then stopped by a rough voice.
"Wait, who are you and state your purpose!" the guard yelled.
The group all took out their passports (?) and opened them, allowing the sand shinobi to see them.
"I am Nara, Shikamaru from the village hidden in the leaves."
"I am Yamanaka, Ino from the village hidden in the leaves."
"And I am Akimichi, Chouji from the village hidden in the leaves."
"We are here to protect the Kazekage-sama" Shikamaru finished saying.
"Hmmm," the man said slowly, while carefully inspecting all of the documents. "ah yes, Kazekage-sama mentioned this. Very well, you may enter."
"Thank You." Said Ino quickly.
They continued walking down and into the village. Shikamaru couldn't stop thinking of how this mission was going to be a total disaster. Soon, they spotted the large building with the sand symbol posted in front of it.
"Look, that must be the Kazekage-sama's office." Chouji interrupted the team's silence.
"Well, of course it is! Its got the symbol, doesn't it?" Ino said annoyingly.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Chouji asked nervously.
"I'm still a little pist-off at you, haven't you noticed?"
"Uh…not really."
'Chouji-kun has done it now' Shikamaru thought.
"WHAT! I'VE BEEN PRACTICALLY IGNORING YOU FOREVER!"
"Oh, really? Why? Well, that's pretty mean, Ino-chan."
"Just SHUT-UP Chouji-kun, you never think of anyone but YOURSELF!"
"What did I do wrong?"
"I said SHUT-UP!"
"Bu-''
"SHUT UP!"
"Uh, Ino-chan, is there a problem?" Shikamaru asked carefully.
"No."
"Um, oka-''
"Yes! I don't want to do this! I want to go back to Konoha! I can't stand those two!"
"Well, why do you hate them so much anyway?" Chouji asked, testing the waters.
"I just do," Ino said, calming down a little but giving Chouji a look. "Kankurou-baka, first of all, is a big bully!"
Shikamaru and Chouji both looked at each other as Ino mentioned 'bully'.
"And Temari-baka, oh, she seriously needs to get a grip! Of all the people in the world, she honestly is the meanest! Don't you remember what she did to Ten Ten on the day we first took the chuunin exams?"
"Yeah, but that was years ago." Chouji added.
"Doesn't matter! She treated a leaf ninja with disrespect and that could never be forgotten, at least not by me or any of you!" threatened Ino.
"You requested leaf ninja to protect you, Gaara-sama?" asked Temari, carefully hiding her anger.
"Yes." The Kazekage responded.
"But why? We don't need them!" argued Kankurou.
"Yes, we do," Gaara said as he opened his eyes slowly. "this is not only a simple mission. This is also a way for Konoha to prove their loyalty."
"But what if they harm you? I mean, what if they kill you? It wouldn't matter because it would be too late." Temari asked, making a good point.
"Exactly." Kankurou agreed.
"Do you honestly think that three jounin can go up against you two and the Kazekage-sama?"
"No." Temari said, her good point being taken away from her.
Knock. Knock.
"Come in."
The door opened slowly revealing Baki, the ninjas' former sensei.
"Kazekage-sama, the leaf shinobi are here."
"Let them in."
"Of course."
The three leaf ninja appeared at the door. Shikamaru as the leader of the group stepped one step further than the rest and reported that the Hokage-sama had sent them.
"Yes, I want all five of you to keep on eye out," the Kazekage began to say. "for anything suspicious. If anything seems out of place, please let me know. It is extremely important that you report to me. Understood?"
"Yes, Kazekage-sama" Shikamaru and Temari said at the same time.
They both looked at each other and turned right away. For some reason they couldn't stand each other.
"Very well. You may leave my office but all of you must be at a close distance from me."
All five shinobi nodded and with that, left.
"Just keep your distance and we'll keep ours. Get it?" Kankurou said with a menacing tone as they were all walking down the hall.
"Fine by us." Ino challenged.
"Uh, can't we all just get along?" the innocent Chouji said, trying to keep the violence out.
All four shinobi stared an evil stare at Chouji and quickly fell silent.
"Now, we are here to protect the Kazekage-sama," Temari said, keeping her voice calm. "and in order to do that, we must all work together. This is after all, our brother and we will protect him. Even if it means getting along with you."
"Hey, this isn't exactly a picnic for us. So if you want to get along, you can start by changing your attitude." Ino angrily said.
Temari slowly shifted her head towards the direction of Ino, "Listen, you will not tell me what to do. You can shove all of your B.S. up you're a-''
"Temari!" Shikamaru yelled.
"What?"
"You will not disrespect any of my teammates!"
"You will not tell me what to say or not to say!" Temari fired back.
"All I'm asking for is respect." Shikamaru said, calming down.
"If you want respect, then tell your friend to stop acting like a smart-mouth."
"Don't call her any names."
"Then stay out of my way."
Shikamaru and Temari stared at each other for a while. The tense between them started to rise. Neither Shikamaru nor Temari had any idea that they were both staring at the love of their life. Soon, destiny was going to show them what they least wanted, but what they most needed.
Author's note: ok that's it for chapter one. I hope it didn't bore you guys that much. Don't worry, all authors need a chapter or two to get a few important things across. I promise I'll try to get some ShikaTema moments in future chapters. But I need to know what you guys want to read! Please, R&R! I need to know what you guys think in order to make this work. All good and bad reviews are accepted. Just tell me what I need to improve on and I'll try to make it better. Just don't get mad at me! Tell me what you think and maybe it could be added to the story. Um, Ch. 2 isn't going to be up for a while cuz I have something due by the end of spring break, so yeah! Plenty of time to tell me what you guys want to read in Ch. 2 so I can get to work on it ASAP! If you guys want me to keep on going, you need to review!