Story notes: Temari is about 23 in this story and Shikamaru would be about 20. There might be hints of ANBU Gaiden in here, but not enough to confuse those who haven't read it.

Naruto and the Narutoverse belong to Masashi Kishimoto and Viz media. I'm just playing with their possible futures a little.

I dream of fire
Those dreams are tied to a horse that will never tire
And in the flames
Her shadows play in the shape of a man's desire

"Oi, woman, what is it? What's going on?" Shikamaru asked Temari who looked like she had just seen a ghost.

Temari stood on a rooftop, looking down at the remainder of a building that didn't look any different than any of the other buildings in Suna to the shadow-nin, but it apparently held some significance for his companion. Temari seemed to be fighting some strong emotions as she balled the hand not holding her fan into a fist at her side and she was visibly shaking with rage. A large corner of the building was missing, a combination of explosion and implosion. The rest of the building was now on fire; flames spreading very rapidly, fed by the hot desert winds. Even though the sun had just gone down, the temperature was still hot and from their location, they could feel it rising as the flames increased.

"The Puppet Corps," she growled. "No!" she hissed out in a whisper of realization.

She jumped off the rooftop and took off toward the burning building. Shikamaru reached for her in vane, attempting to stop her from her suicide mission without any success.

"Oi, don't go in there! Temari!" Shikamaru called after her, but she tuned him out and he felt helpless as he watched her for a split second before she disappeared into the building. He mumbled, "Mendokuse" before he followed her, every logical fiber in his being screaming at him to stop.

Once inside, Shikamaru could feel the rising temperature of the fire as he tried to find his bearings in the building. The fire had already claimed the upper two floors in this part of the building, he could hear the wood cracking and splintering as it strained in the heat of the fire. The noxious fumes from the smoke burned his lungs, as if his old habit of smoking hadn't done a number on them already. He pulled out the bottom of his shirt and ripped the edge of his uniform to create a makeshift mask as he tied it tightly around the lower portion of his face. The smoke was burning his eyes and he held up an arm to protect them as he stumbled through the flames toward where he thought Temari could have gone. He heard a scream that sounded more like a growl and he turned and walked as best he could toward the noise.

He coughed, "Temari! Where are you?" but he couldn't hear her anymore. He knew he had to keep his calm if he was to find her in here, but in all this heat it didn't matter how much emotional training he had had over the years, he was still becoming frustrated and scared the longer it took to find her. His frustration was compounded when a part of the ceiling behind him collapsed, forcing him to go deeper into the building.

He heard the wild cries again, this time they sounded like cries of rage just beyond the doorway to his right, so he made his way toward the sound as fast as he could, coughing since his makeshift mask was only doing so much to protect his lungs. He remembered Kankuro's workshop being somewhere on this side of town and he wondered if that was who she was looking for.

"Kankuro!" she cried. He could swear he could hear the sound of tears in her voice as she called out his name. He could finally see her shadow in the flames ahead of him and he had to stop as a support beam between their locations started to break, hot ash raining down as he covered his head with his arms. He ignored the pain as small holes burned into his shirt from the embers as he once again moved toward her before the beam came down with a crash where he stood only seconds ago.

"Temari, I'm coming, just stay there," he called out to her. The panic that had been trying to take over was starting to win in the battle with his rational side and he could feel a lump in his chest. He could see her shadow bending over something as he moved closer.

"Shika! Help me!" she called out to him. Her voice laced with pain and anger and he ran to her as fast as the fire would allow. He could see the shape of a man trapped underneath a support beam in the next room, Temari trying her best to move the huge piece of building, but to no avail.

Rushing to her side, he grabbed the free end of the beam and called forth as much chakra as he could muster into his arms and legs, giving a battle cry that would rival Sakura's in the process. Temari was also struggling against her half of the stubborn piece of wood and they were able to roll it off the man just enough to get him free. Carefully rolling him over, they saw the face of the puppet master. Temari cried out, "NO!" a single tear escaping her eye before it slid down her cheek. She turned and threw herself into Shikamaru's arms and he instinctively pulled her into a hug as she buried her face into his chest.

Shikamaru looked at the figure over her shoulder. At first glance, it looked exactly like Kankuro. When he studied it a little longer, he noticed that something wasn't right. First of all, for a dead man, the skin was surprisingly life like. And two, he noticed a crack. Even with as dry as his skin felt out here in the desert, there was no physiological way that skin would break like that. Which meant that it was just a puppet, disguised to look like it's handler with artificial skin that covered the wooden structure beneath it.

"It's not him, just a puppet," Shikamaru announced, rubbing her back as he tried to comfort her. His chin was close enough to her head that he could have rested it there if he so desired, but he wasn't feeling that bold. He had never seen her like this. Temari had become a fragile woman and holding her felt so right, like this was what she needed. Temari leaned back into his arms and took a shaky breath. Looking toward the figure on the floor, she confirmed his words seeing that it was in fact one of Kankuro's puppets. A renewed look of purpose on her face appeared as she pushed the fear and panic from her mind, taking back control over her emotions. She wiped her eyes free of the tears that had begun to form, leaving black smudges across her cheeks.

"Let's get out of here before they need to rescue us. I'm sure he's fine," Shikamaru said. He had ripped the other half of his shirt as he spoke and began to put the fabric around her face. She tried to protest but he wouldn't hear of it. "Temari, trust me," he said, she took a moment to take in his words, his arms held around her face waiting for the ok. She knew he was serious as he looked into her eyes. He had also used her name in a tone that she had never heard him use with her until now. It made him sound like he had been afraid for her. Temari nodded her acceptance of his proffered fabric and he proceeded to tie it to her face.

They could hear laughter coming from behind them and they both spun on their heels to see a dark figure amidst the flames.

"He may be fine, but you're not. Hello Temari-hime. So nice to see you again. I see you are as feisty as ever," the stranger said.

"What do you want? How did you get in here?" Temari growled.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm still alive and I remember every second of the last moments we spent together. You hurt me, Hime, very deeply. Therefore, I plan to take everything you hold dear, one precious piece at a time. I think I'll start with that Leaf Ninja over there," he said, nodding toward Shikamaru with a smirk. This ninja just oozed charm and it sent a shiver down Shikamaru's spine. "As far as getting in here, it doesn't take much for someone skilled in fire jutsu to overpower those who are limited to wind jutsu, isn't that right Temari-hime?"

She let out a growl again and ran straight at him, her fan closed as she swung it around with as much emotion, force, and rage as her small frame held for this man. Shikamaru had never seen her this enraged before and it was doing a good job at unnerving him. This battle was personal, even though he had no idea why or what had happened between them. He had seen a lot of the Temari hidden from the world in only a matter of minutes and he didn't really have the time to process it all.

And as she turns
This way she moves in the logic of all my dreams
This fire burns
I realize that nothing's as it seems

The unknown ninja did a good job at blocking her fan as she used it like a club. He had a sickly sweet smile on his face, as if he was enjoying every moment of their battle. The more enraged she was, the bigger his grin became. The blows never really seemed to be doing any damage and this was starting to worry the Leaf Jounin. Shikamaru never realized how much rage she had hidden deep within her. 'This is nothing like the Temari I know. I need to do something and fast, before we are all dead,' he thought as he started to watch the walls around them being eaten away by the flames, the heat increasing with each passing second.

'This is exactly what this bastard wants. Temari is playing right into his hands and I need to get her out of here. I don't know what pleasure he's deriving from seeing her like this, but I need the calm and rational Temari back and soon.'

Shikamaru was keeping a close watch on the enemy ninja as he fought Temari, studying every move he made. 'He seemed to be taking each blow as if he had the ability to harden himself, an earth jutsu maybe? This guy also said he could use fire jutsu, so he's at least Jounin level. He is also a sadistic bastard, but I'm going to need more time than this to come up with a plan. Kami, I could watch her fight all day,' Shikamaru thought as he watched the two trade blows, slightly distracted by Temari's grace and figure in the process. Temari was very skillful at dancing away from most of the kicks and punches he threw her way, but she was a medium to long-range fighter and this fight took her out of her element, literally.

Crouching as low as he could, he studied the surroundings, looking for anything that could come in handy. The hard thing was that the surroundings kept changing. His shirt and jacket were soaked with sweat and he was starting to feel light headed from all the smoke and heat assaulting his body. This man had already made one threat on his life, so he knew that he needed to be aware of everything going on around him. This creep wanted to torture Temari. That meant that he wasn't going to kill her first. Shikamaru had to jump quickly out of the way as another beam came crashing down onto their level.

'Not good. I need to move now,' Shikamaru mentally yelled at himself as he collected himself and started to send out his shadow.

"Kage Nui no Jutsu!"

Shikamaru's shadow started to divide into a dozen inky black fingers and he wrapped around both Temari and the enemy, straining to stop their fight and keep them separated.

"Nice technique. I'm going to have to keep an eye on you for sure, my friend," Temari's adversary laughed. Shikamaru didn't like his cockiness, but he wasn't going to qualify it with a remark. He had other things he needed to focus on right now.

Temari let out a frustrated growl. "Nara Shikamaru! Let. Me. Go!" she ordered.

Shikamaru struggled as they both fought with all they had against his shadow. He had been careful not to send his shadow through Temari's frame, but he had caught the enemy a couple times through the right leg and his left arm. The man seemed to be enjoying the pain and Shikamaru was reminded of Hidan with the way he was reveling in it. Disgusted, he turned his attention to the woman stuck within his grasp and approached her until he could talk to her without the other one hearing.

"Calm down woman!" he whispered so that only she could here. "What has gotten into you? We need to retreat and fight this guy somewhere where we aren't being roasted alive!"

He could feel her calm down a little; she was still fighting the Shadow Sewing, but not as fiercely.

"I want to hurt him so bad, Nara, let me go!" she ordered. "Just hold on to him and I'll finish him quickly."

"I can't do that! I'm not going to last much longer like this!" he hissed.

He could hear the roof starting to give way two floors up and he knew they were out of time for talk. He released the jutsu and grabbed Temari by the waist, running for the nearest exit he could see in the smoke. The creaking and groaning of the weakened structure was getting louder as he neared a glass window, Temari kicking and struggling as much as she could against his arms. He had caught her off guard enough when he took hold of that she hadn't had much of a chance to get her feet back in contact with the floor, leaving her hanging sideways in his grasp.

He felt a stab of pain to the back of his leg, which made him stumble and almost drop the woman in his arms. Crying out in pain and frustration, he did his best to ignore the pain, gathered the angry Temari, and continued toward the window. He could hear a hissing sound and had looked between his legs when he struggled back onto his feet to see that a kunai and a rapidly burning explosive tag accompanied the pain.

"Shimatta!" he growled just before he launched himself and Temari through the glass of the window, using his back to break through it and holding Temari in a protective angle so that only he felt the full force of the blow. He landed and rolled, feeling the kunai lodging deeper into his thigh when he hit the ground, the hissing getting faster. He needed to get this thing out and as far away from them as fast as he possibly could.

He released Temari mid roll, rolling a few more meters beyond her before he grabbed the kunai, pulling it out and launching it as far away from them as possible. It exploded a fraction of a second later. He had made it just in time and was just barely able to shield his eyes from the blast, but he could feel the searing pain in his leg now accompanied by the feeling of a warm liquid.

His colorful language and the medium sized explosion alerted Temari to where he had landed. Moreover, he could see that Temari was dazed and fuming for grabbing her the way he did. Realizing that he was in serious trouble he grabbed his leg, blood running through his fingers as it dripped into a large pool of blood beneath it. He surmised that the kunai must have hit a major artery for this much blood to be coming out, but his brain was scrambling to think of how to stop the blood flowing from his wound; a feeling of panic began to take hold of him. Shikamaru could see Temari scramble on all fours as fast as she could over to his location in his peripheral vision. Grabbing at his belt buckle, she tried to release the clasp as fast as her fingers could work, which earned her an angry glare from the Leaf Jounin.

"What the hell woman! This is hardly the time! I'm bleeding to death here!" he said trying to fend her off from his pants.

"Shut up you big baby!" she ordered. "I'm trying to get your belt so that I can use it to stop the bleeding!"

He stopped protecting his pants when he realized that she was trying to make a tourniquet for his leg. He watched as she removed it from the belt loops, placed it around his leg just above the wound, and pulled it as tight as possible; tying it in a very tight knot so that the blood flow started to slow down. Temari then proceeded to take off her obi and began to tie that rather tightly around the wound so that she could apply more pressure to the wound itself; leaving her singed and dirtied dress to hang loosely around her hips. Shikamaru was amazed at how quickly and confidently she was working on his leg, leaving him to watch her with admiration while she worked.

She had just finished tying the last knot when the roof of the puppet corps building collapsed, which sent a shower of embers and debris in their direction. Out of instinct, she fell on top of Shikamaru and he pulled her closer at the same time. The majority of the debris managed to land around them, but a few larger pieces fell on top of them. Temari was able to push the debris off her back and their legs as he feebly tried to help her, but the pain in his leg screamed at him and caused him to collapse back onto his elbows.

They could hear some maniacal laughing above their heads and they both looked up to see the rouge ninja standing there, un-singed and apparently having a good time at their expense.

"That's one point for me, Hime," he laughed as she let out a frustrated growl, her anger returning full force as soon as he appeared. "But you and I will have to settle our score later," he said as he suddenly radiated killer intent and glared at Shikamaru.

"Don't," Shikamaru ordered, grabbing her arm so that she couldn't run after him.

The enemy-nin faded out of sight with some sort of preferred jutsu, leaving them alone with the burning building. Dazed at what had just happened, she sank back onto her heels next to him and they could hear the calls of both civilians and ninja alike as they tried to put out the fire. He could see Kankuro rounding the corner, coming at full speed towards them as she unexpectedly turned and commence in pounding the first inanimate object she could find, which soon crumbled under her rage. Shikamaru didn't know what to do with this suddenly emotional version of Temari, so he did the first thing he could think of and wrapped her in his strong arms. He started whispering things he felt were more appropriate to say to a frustrated three year old than someone his senior, but he was hoping that his voice would help to calm her down.

"Nara! What the hell happened here!" Kankuro demanded.

"She apparently thought you were trapped in there and ended up finding some guy she shares a grudge with instead," Shikamaru replied. He gave Kankuro a recap of the fight in the fire, Kankuro's facial expressions warping the lines of the purple face paint that he wore as he listened to the shadow-nin's tale. Shikamaru could tell that the puppet master knew something about their enemy and he planned to speak to him later about it when Temari wasn't around. He didn't want to mess in Suna business any more than necessary, but he considered Temari a friend even if their friendship felt like it was more of a rivalry. Deep down his heart was aching to help her in any way that he could.

Temari was still shaking with rage, her face streaked with the remnants of the fire and the few stray tears that had managed to slip from her eyes. She had a wild look about her as she kept looking toward the place where her adversary had once been. Her expression made him imagine that maybe she was mentally screaming for the bastard to come back and finish their fight. Shikamaru was still holding tightly onto her, trying to calm her down even though his words did not seem to reach her ears, but she was no longer struggling to get free. Kankuro looked on, appearing to Shikamaru to be unnerved from seeing his sister enraged like this and frustrated that the building that was his pride and joy lit the night sky as it burned.