I don't own Naruto…not even a little…*sob*…


Chapter 2: Defenses


For some reason completely beyond Shikamaru's comprehension, Temari had insisted they eat at Ichiraku's—not that Shikamaru had anything in particular against the ramen stand…it was just…not quite the dinner he had been expecting.

"How's Naruto doing?", Temari asked between large bites of steaming ramen.

Shikamaru poked lazily at his own dinner, dislodging a neon pink slice of…something...from its noodley cage.

"Pretty well; he's been training almost non-stop." Temari watched as a ghost of a smile appeared on Shikamaru's face.

"He and Hinata have been spending a lot of time training together lately, so if you get a chance make sure to bring up." Shikamaru raised his eyes to Temari's face just in time to register a mischievous smirk.

"Oh, I definitely will; it's about time that kid got a taste of his own medicine", Temari's face began to take on a sinister aspect as she planned her attack on the unsuspecting Uzumaki.

"Will he be competing this year?", Temari finally asked, returning to her ramen with renewed vigor.

Shikamaru smirked, "I don't think so; if only for the sake of the other competitors. Although his status as a genin is beginning to become a problem…"

"Damn straight it is!"

Shikamaru watched in bemusement as Temari sucked a noodle into her mouth with a very unladylike slurp; finishing, she waved her chopsticks at him authoritatively: "The genin-chuunin-jounin distinction is pointless if there are genin running around with the ability to pound jounin!"

Shikamaru fought desperately not to break into laughter at Temari's antics.

"Still, the only way to achieve the chuunin rank is through the test; you know that."

Temari fixed him with a smile and dropped her voice to a conspiratory whisper, "Why not make him a jounin?"

Shikamaru allowed a small amount of confusion to show on his face, "I didn't think that was possible…

Temari lifted her bowl to her lips and downed what little remained of her ramen; "It was Gaara's suggestion, you'd have to ask him".

Shikamaru visibly paled at the Kazekage's name, "I think I'll pass. I don't particularly want to die."

Temari gave him a glare that would have killed a lesser man, "He had a rough childhood, give him a break; besides, he's been steadily improving ever since he met Naruto."

With a sigh, Shikamaru returned to poking his ramen.

'When did things get so complicated?'

A sudden softening of Temari's voice recalled Shikamaru from his thoughts, "You alright Shikamaru? You seem a little off; one second you're laughing, and the next you look like someone punched you."

Shikamaru could have sworn his heart hurdled out of his chest and made a solid escape down the street. Taking a long moment to stare into the darkness outside the incandescent ramen stand settled his mind enough to respond, "I've just been under a lot of stress lately; I probably just need to get some sleep".

Temari's frown made it clear she didn't believe his excuse in the slightest. "Would you like to head back?"

Shikamaru was in no hurry to get home, but the cool night air would help to calm his pounding heart.

"Yeah…let's go"

At his assent, Temari pushed her bowl forward, stood, and began walking out of the ramen stand.

"I'll meet you out front!"

' I'm sorry Temari, but I need to deal with this by myself. '

"Arigato, Ichiraku-san", Shikamaru said with a nod in the owner's direction, putting down enough money to cover both his and Temari's dinner.

"Nara-san, would you like to take the rest with you?", Teuchi briefly inclined his head to where Shikamaru's bowl sat, barely touched.

"Thank you, but I'll be fine" Shikamaru replied, quickly turning to join Temari on the dark street.

"Shikamaru, you're such a gentlemen! Paying for my dinner like that!"

Shikamaru didn't even attempt to stop his incredulous snort, "Temari, we both know you had absolutely no intention of paying for dinner yourself."

Temari only confirmed his suspicions by flashing him a wide grin.

The walk back to Shikamaru's apartment was uneventful; the conversation between the two ranged over the upcoming Chuunin exams, recent threats, and finally ended on mutual friends. Walking up to his door, Shikamaru removed his key from a pocket hidden in his leaf-green vest.

"Tomorrow we have a lunch meeting with the Hokage, and then we need to start going over the preparations for the exam. Ibiki has already volun—"

"SHIKAMARU. Open the damn door; you can tell me about it tomorrow morning"

With a sharp pull opened the door to his apartment, allowing Temari to enter.

"Just don't be late."

Placing his sandals next to the door, Shikamaru walked past Temari and up the stairs towards his bedroom. Temari, much in the same fashion as she had done earlier in the day, kicked her sandals off violently—sending one to lay next to Shikamaru's and the other to whiz past the leaf jounin's left ear.

"Troublesome woman…"

Shikamaru's head snapped back a second later as Temari gave a sharp tug on his ponytail.

"Shut up cloud-boy"

Despite the whirlwind of emotions he'd been feeling since she arrived, Shikamaru began to relax into the comfortable banter with Temari. It was more like a long memorized dance, than an argument; all the insults had long ago lost whatever sting they had originally possessed, each one was instead a reminder of different conversations and memories—all of them happy. It was a safe place where he could finally relax.

The back and forth between the shinobi quieted as Shikamaru reached his room, "I'll see you tomorrow Tema-"

"Actually Shikamaru, I was wondering if I could talk to you for a few minutes", Temari's words shattered the comfortable rhythm of the earlier insults; her voice was soft, pitched to imply that the conversation would be a deep, personal one.

"...No problem…", Shikamaru hesitated near the lamp in his room for an instant before deciding that he would prefer the dark. Stripping off his vest, Shikamaru moved to sit on the nearest edge of his bed; lazily kicking an old shirt out of the way.

Temari entered the room on Shikamaru's heels, pausing in the entranceway to examine Shikamaru's room.

'Chaos…an ever so slightly organized chaos…'

Clothes lay haphazardly across the floor; in the corner furthest from her sat a pile of ninja gear while the corner opposite it held a desk surrounded by several stacks of books and scrolls—each one nearly waist high. Shikamaru's bed sat halfway between her and the ninja tools, draped in sheets darker than the multitude of surrounding shadows.

Shikamaru's sudden movement snapped Temari's attention back to him-a glance that quickly turned into much more as her eyes roamed hungrily over his back. The leaf jounin had finally removed his bulky vest, and underneath he wore a tight, black mesh shirt that clung to every muscle on his lean torso. Temari bit her lip, vainly attempting to suppress the heat pooling between her legs. Only when Shikamaru had seated himself on the bed and faced her could Temari clear her mind enough to race through what she wanted to say. Walking across the room she let her eyes inspect its contents further,

"You have a copy of the Leaf's bingo book." Picking it up, she scanned the remainder of the desk; on it were rosters, maps of the terrain around the leaf village, and schematics for most of the town.

"Are you working on Konoha's defenses?", she asked, turning to face him with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah; Tsunade seems to think we should have a detailed plan for every possible attack…"

"It can't hurt to prepare for at least the likely ones"; placing the bingo book back on his desk, Temari picked up the desk chair and walked back towards Shikamaru, placing the wooden chair in front of him and seating herself.

"Shikamaru…I'm sorry about what happened last time. I should have stopped you sooner."

Unable to meet Temari's eyes, Shikamaru felt himself scrutinizing his hands, "It's not a problem Temari; you were right. What I did was out of line and jeopardized both of our lives, not to mention the trust of our villages. You don't need to worry…even if it could, it wouldn't happen again. I'm sorry…for everything…"

The longer Shikamaru talked, the more Temari felt the weight in her abdomen grow; she had known it would take Shikamaru awhile to recover, but…he hadn't healed at all. He looked like a pale silhouette of his former self; having her there must be killing him even more than she had noticed, "Shikamaru…"

Raising his head for the first time, Shikamaru easily read concern in Temari's eyes; "I'm fine Temari; you don't need to worry". Shikamaru found himself musing over whether his words rang as hollow in Temari's ears as they did in his own.

"I'm so sorry Temari", despite his best efforts Shikamaru felt a tear burning a path down his cheek.

With this, Temari stood. It was clear that Shikamaru was in no shape to hear what she had planned to tell him. With a soft sigh, she turned and left Shikamaru alone in his room; never once glancing back towards the fallen ninja, the man she had broken.